


Irrefutable Logic

by fangsandwires



Series: Blurb Series [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Other, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-04 08:07:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 32,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17300936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangsandwires/pseuds/fangsandwires
Summary: Captured by Decepticons, but you don't really give a sh*t. That is, until you're sent to the master logician for interrogation. Shenanigans ensue.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is probably…what, one of my only original posts? I just saw the Bumblebee movie, and I’ve been neglecting writing for waaaay too long. I made it specifically for TF stuff but I guess I got dragged back kicking and screaming from the new movie (no lie, I loved it to bits).
> 
> I’m also a huge dweeb and I was headcannoning like no one’s business on my drive home. This is a blurb I decided to jot down (it’s not exactly like I pictured but close. Damn driving inspiration). It’s a reader/Shockwave thing (I’m a sucker for that masterclass logician) and I’ll likely be adding to it. I don’t write much but sometimes I gotta get it out. Initial ‘con can be whatever you picture. I had Screamer in my head.
> 
> (fyi, it includes vaping, so if you don’t, or don’t smoke or whatever, it’s not super important. I just do and like the aesthetic of smoke)

Sitting chained to a pole wasn't exactly how you wanted to spend the rest of your time on Earth, but at least your captor had the decency to let your arms free up to the elbow so you could still take a drag of your vape.

A very frustrated Decepticon was glaring at you, tapping sharp digits against the metal plating of their crossed arms. This interrogation clearly hadn't been going the way they'd initially wished.

You took another drag of the small device with a bored expression. 

"You know," you begin, pausing to exhale a bit of vapor. "There's something to be said about the effectiveness of intimidation..." The smoke lingers in the shaft of light before you, casting swirls of shadow across the floor. The Decepticon scowls.

"Death threats right out the gate are a little heavy handed, don't you think?" You continue before taking another drag. 

The bot's armor flares in annoyance as they snap back, "For something so squishy you're pretty smug! Now tell me what I want to know, or I'll let Shockwave dissect you while you're screaming out all the information we'll ever need!" The threat is met with another slow inhale of vapor.

"Did it ever occur to you that I may volunteer the information willingly, or is this just how you always get intel?" You reply coolly, smoke coming from your nostrils. 

The Decepticon looks shocked, seeming to take a second to process the logical steps. The question had never been asked. They just took you and threw you in a cell, assuming they'd have to strong-arm any information they wanted.

You waited, the space around you hazy with leftover particles. Something seemed to finally click in the 'con's processor and they frowned.

"You're just trying to trick me. What reason would you have besides saving your own skin to willingly give us information? And who's to say it'd be RIGHT? You could feed us a line of lies!" The bot continued going on and on about all the possible reasons why you'd just volunteer, so you had to wait until their tirade was done to talk again.

"Despite all those valid reasons," Inhale. "Lying would only guarantee my death, so wouldn't that be a pretty illogical response to volunteering information in the first place?" You question, smoke dripping from your mouth as you raised a questioning brow.

The Decepticon paused, then gave an exasperated sigh, a talon covering their faceplates in exhaustion.

"I could talk circles with you all day and we'd never get anywhere..." They grumble, the 'tough bot' act slipping aside for the moment. The con huffs and puts both hands on their hips, seemingly defeated.

"Fine." They spat, frowning at you. "Since death threats -clearly- don't work on a squishy with no self-preservation-" You interrupt, "I know what I'm about." The con clears their vocals and continues, "Since they don't work, I'm sending you to Shockwave, you smart-aft little rivet. We'll see how many circles you can talk -him- into while he's peeling your skin off." The bot hissed, turning on a heel to leave the room.

You watched them go and slowly took another drag of the vape, glancing around the room. A very small glint caught your eye and you stared, expression breaking with a small smirk as more vapor slipped from between your teeth.


	2. Welcome to the Laboratory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's something to say about showmanship, and baby, you got it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second bit that I managed to finish. These are all going to be kind of short since I'm just writing as I go, but on with the show! (hey, that rhymed)

About fifteen minutes passed since the first interrogator had left, giving you time to sit and contemplate how this next encounter was going to go. When the door opened again, a standard Eradicon entered. The small breeze caused by the door made the smoke on the floor agitate and billow in translucent swirls.

The bot didn't say anything, walking over to set down a small glass prison and move to undo the chains. You just take another drag wordlessly before standing up, stretching your arms, and simply walking into the open container. At least you wouldn't have to walk all the way across the ship. Damn thing probably went for a few miles.

The Eradicon cocked their helm a bit in curiosity at your nonchalant compliance, but picked up the cage when you were in and off you both went.

While riding along in the bot's servos, you took in the giant hallways and various other bots you passed. There were mostly other Eradicons but a couple of them were more unique, including the last bot you encountered, who scowled when you passed by. You give a cheeky little grin and blow out a little more vapor. 

It seemed like the glass cage was self-contained, and allowed for oxygen to get through, but the smoke particles were too thick to be filtered out, so the further you went, the foggier the cage got. Eventually it looked like the Eradicon was carrying a mystical ball of smoke with a slightly darker figure standing inside. 

That was fine. All the hallways looked the same anyway.

Eventually, you noticed the bot stopped after stepping into a new room. Sure, you couldn't see shit because of all the vapor (your own fault, admittedly), but there was a dark figure you could make out between the clouds. They looked quite a bit bigger than the other bots you'd seen so far, save for the assumed Decepticon leader (whom you had also yet to meet).

You felt the Eradicon walk over toward a nearby table and place the cage down, then leave. Looking back at the large figure, you see them continuing to work at a different area, taking their sweet time before even turning around. Through the haze you can see a singular bright yellow light in the center of the shadow, which was steadily drawing nearer until it was towering over the glass prison.

You take another drag and blow the smoke up in the direction of the yellow, smoke swirling around from the air and making curled designs against the surface. 

Finally, a large servo reaches up and unlatches the cage, allowing the clouded air to escape in a fantastic flow of smoke as it's lifted upward. You stand in the center casually, then hold up your arms and reply with a small grin, "Ta-da."


	3. A Game of Chess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All I'm gonna say is PLOT TWIST.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, I haven't written a lot, but I tried to stay true to what I thought the reactions and such would be. Kinda made the reader a bamf but I'm having fun, so. \o/

The faceplates that greet you are...well, lacking actual faceplates. Shockwave, general of the Decepticon army, faceless scientist and absolute logician, flickers his singular optic in what you only assume could be amusement or surprise. It was hard to tell, but he just kind of paused after that. It seemed he hadn't been informed of your oddities.

You lowered your arms once again and took another drag, seemingly entered into a staring contest with the large bot as he assessed what he'd just uncovered. 

A few moments passed, and once you assumed he was done calculating just how weird you were, you stated, "Whenever you're ready. I'm not going anywhere." The joke was a bit flat, but he seemed to get 'back to business' so-to-speak, and sat the cage aside.

"Remain there." Shockwave ordered, his tone even. You got the sense he'd been taken a bit off-guard, which from what you'd heard, was rare.

Shockwave turned to go back to whatever he'd been fiddling with at the other table, leaving you standing where you'd been placed. To be fair, the table was high enough that even if you'd tried to run, you'd either break your legs or neck trying to get off it.

You stood still for a couple minutes, glancing around the huge room. There were various ranges of tools and equipment scattered about, nice and tidy and everything in its place. From what you could guess, it was sectioned off by whatever the items were used for, giving the room a feel of no-nonsense organization. There were also bot-sized containment tubes along the back wall, but nothing inside them besides a green liquid.

Taking a drag, you look back at the purple bot as he's working, unable to see exactly what he was doing. Curiously, you quietly take a few steps across the table, trying to get a better vantage point. You paused, waiting to see if he'd even glance around since you technically -did- move, but Shockwave seemed focused on his work, so you walked a little more.

Nearly at the other edge of the table, you caught a glimpse of some electronic device sitting on the workstation. You watched Shockwave carefully soldering a few wires to a board with surprising dexterity for a one-handed bot.

About ten more minutes passed, and you just sat on the edge of the table, leaning carefully to watch him work, occasionally taking another hit of vapor. Shockwave examined his work, and seemed satisfied at his stopping place before he turned back to look at you. His gaze didn't even wander to where you'd been standing, affirming that he indeed realized you'd moved.

You were mid-exhale and idly doing o-ring tricks while you waited, a final faint ring rising from the last puff as you looked at each other again. He seemed to assess the new oddity quickly and moved to approach the table again.

"Your previous interrogation was reported to be...troublesome." He stated, singular optic focused on your small form sitting atop the desk. You looked back unnerved. Despite his lack of facial expressions, there was enough intonation in his tone to tell he was a bit irritated that his work had to be interrupted for this.

You take another drag and reply with a smile, "Unfortunately, the death threats didn't work." Smoke came from your nose before you continued, "They said you'd skin me alive to make me talk, but I assume the skinning is unnecessary if I'm willing to talk in the first place." 

Shockwave seemed ever stoic, but you noticed the minute flash from his optic in response. 

"Furthermore, since it's assumed I -do- know something of value, dragging me to the brink of death is likely a 75% gamble on whether I talk under pain of torture or not. If I do, you win, and the Autobots will be irrevocably pissed you killed me. If I don't, good luck getting another human who knows what I might." You take another drag of the vape, raising a brow at the titan before you.

Shockwave remains silent for a moment, then leans in a bit closer. It's unclear if he's trying to intimidate you, or examine you. Perhaps both.

"Your reactions to the situation are illogical considering the basis of human preservation instinct. Yet, " He paused, and you could see the internal workings of his optic refocus. " Your composure denotes logical reasoning and confidence therewith. Odd, for a human." 

He leaned in just a bit closer and added, "I can see why they got frustrated with you." 

You laugh a bit, little puffs of smoke coming out as you do so. 

"I have to admit," You began, still unable to help smiling even though what Shockwave said wasn't a joke. "Talking with you is already more interesting than that last bot."

Shockwave wasn't amused. A large servo came up and rested on the table next to you, your gaze sliding over to it momentarily before looking back at the scientist. You knew that was a 'I could crush you any moment' gesture.

"Your interest is beyond my caring. You are here because we want information, and once that is achieved, it is only logical you be disposed of afterward." He responded, yellow optic still focused ominously on you. 

You mull over the thought for a moment, giving an agreeing shrug in a 'yah, ok, I can see that' kind of way. You take another drag.

"That's very true." You acquiesce, blowing some smoke to the side. "However, isn't there a greater value in a reliable source kept alive, than a dead one?" Your gaze locks with the con's, unwavering. You just waited to see if he realized what you meant.

There was a long pause, tracking devices in his optic searching for any kind of hesitation, and likely scanning for bodily changes for a tell if you lied. Finally, Shockwave's helm tilted ever-so-slightly and he replied, "What a cunning human you are..."


	4. Pawns and Queens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you're still playing the game, you haven't lost yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this is just arguing with myself but dun dun duuuuun.

You may, or may not have opened a jar of bees with that last statement. The way Shockwave had responded struck you as 'challenge accepted'. 

"If you're insinuating we would even fathom keeping you alive in order to bring us intelligence, you sorely underestimate Soundwave. I'm sure he'd be insulted." That. That was sass. You must've looked offended because Shockwave's optic flickered again.

"It's not meant as an insult," You wave off the comment, stirring up a bit of haze around you. "Despite his clear excellence at finding out exactly what everyone is up to, all the time, there -are- some places I could go and he cannot." You jestured during the explanation, looking back at the scientist afterward.

"Besides, there's a difference between eavesdropping and first-hand information and the ability to clarify and ask questions." You added, taking note of a camera in the far corner and quickly adding, "No offense to Soundwave implied."

Shockwave listened patiently before he moved to stand straight again, towering above you once more. You knew that comment had been bait, and the likely observing Soundwave did as well. This felt like playing chess with all pawns against a full set of queens. You didn't even know how many players were in the game, either.

"Even so," the scientist began, seeming a bit more invested in the 'interrogation' than before, "The value of a spy is weighted alongside the value of the information. An informant with underwhelming performance is an illogical choice." 

You knew full well that was a warning. If you were going to do this, and screw it up, there's no way you'd walk out with anything intact. Your mind raced through scenarios quickly until a lightbulb went off.

"Then test me." You reply, taking a drag. "It's only logical...right?" You put a bit more emphasis on 'logical'. You knew this was just a game to Shockwave, but the trick was to get him to keep playing.

After you issued your challenge, Shockwave turned to walk to his other workspace, picking up a standard-size datapad and returning to the desk. You felt like this just turned into a job interview for a second.

Instead of immediately asking you anything, Shockwave scrolled through the pad. A few more moments passed and you realized he was reading something completely unrelated to what you'd been talking about. The fragger had gotten -bored-. Talk about adding insult to injury.

Your brow knit together but you didn't say anything, betting on the fact this was just to get a rouse out of you. After about five minutes, Shockwave looked at you again, to which you just blew out some more smoke. You glanced over, and he sat the data pad down.

"At least you know when to stay silent, unlike some of my colleagues." Shockwave stated, turning to grab a nearby chair and position it in front of you. The table shook a bit but luckily you were still seated.

"I've been meaning to ask," You began, blowing out more vapor. "What exactly did you want to know? Is it something you suspect, or just confirmation of what you already know?" You lean over slightly, resting a hand on your knee. Shockwave still sat a bit taller than your level on the table, but at least it was closer to face-to-face.

It took a moment after you said it, but you realized that sounded a little too eager. Mentally chiding yourself, you looked up when Shockwave spoke again.

"We'll begin with something simple." He stated, sounding somewhat exasperated with the charade already. "Can you confirm the Autobot scouting route for the next five days?" The lilt in his tone sounded like he was speaking to a child. 

You brushed off the irritation and glanced upward before closing your eyes to remember, bringing a hand up to cup your chin. This had to be 100% correct or you're sure you'd be squashed on the spot.

"Tomorrow, Arcee at the North West section of the desert, near the town, then around the pass and back. Second day, Bumblebee and Arcee together to the East, then splitting off near the air base and circling back around North and South. Third, Bumblebee to the South West and circling around to the East before turning back. Repeat first and second days." You reply, eyes opening after reciting the schedule. 

Hesitantly, you look back at the bot sitting before you, who remains stock still and singular optic trained on your form. There's a long, uncomfortable silence. You try not to let the worry build too high, try not to think you got anything wrong. 

Try not to think of dying.

The moment drags on sluggishly as you fight your own thoughts until you see Shockwave raise his servo up to rest his helm upon in a look of interest.

 

"...correct."


	5. Check

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't know why I'm writing so much. I'm stuck at work with not much to do so here, have part 5 of I have no idea how much. Hope you like it!

You exhale the breath you'd been holding through your nose with relief. That was close. Well, it would've been if you hadn't remembered at the last second what the final two days were scheduled as.

You also weren't sure if that look of curiosity from Shockwave was a good, or bad sign. You took another drag.

"It seems you're observant enough," He began, letting 'enough' hang in the air for it to be obvious. "Moving on," Shockwave shifted a bit and continued, "I want you to verify information only known to myself, Lord Megatron, and Soundwave."

You blinked in surprise. What on this green Earth could possibly be something only the upper ranks of the Decepticons knew? Queen to E-2, pawn taken. Check.

This was bad. You knew a fair amount, but something like this is most likely over your head. Shockwave just gave you feint as an opening move.

His optic flickered in what you guessed was amusement in response to your reaction.

"Optimus Prime has a physical weakness. What is it?" The scientist posed his question in such vague terms, you swore it must be a trick.

You hum to yourself in thought, crossing your arms and filtering through all the things you do know for sure, searching for any memory of an instance where this might've come up.

Minutes passed. You kept thinking. Shockwave continued to watch you struggle in search of the correct answer. Silence stagnated the atmosphere. The scientist tapped his helm, getting impatient.

You were drawing a blank. What the hell did he mean when he asked about a 'physical weakness'? In general, Optimus didn't look damaged or seem like he had a handicap at all. For goodness sake, he was a Prime!

Your face screwed up in frustration, giving another sigh.

Tink...  
Tink tink tink...

The sound of rain hitting the outer hull of the ship began to filter into the background. Your head tilted to the side, annoyed at the quiet distraction until something hit you.

Rain.

"Rain..." You mutter, eyes popping open in realization. "It's..." You look up quickly as you realize the rain had reminded you of the answer.

"He's got an old wound that aches when it rains. It's the atmospheric pressure that makes it hurt. It's his left shoulder, above the spark." You reply quickly, amazed at yourself for remembering such a small tidbit that had only been mentioned once. The only reason you found out was because Ratchet had been looking at Optimus' shoulder right before a thunderstorm hit.

The few moments afterward dragged out again, but you were sure this time. There's nothing else it could've been. Hell, even the other Autobots didn't seem to know about that, so what else could it have been?

This time, Shockwave's finials twitched. That was new.

"Oh, how -very- observant you are." That almost sounded like a compliment. "I don't believe a human has ever been this entertaining." Ok, that was definitely a Decepticon compliment.

Shockwave sat up straight and leaned forward, optic sensors twitching in amusement.

"I believe the skinning has been postponed. Your proposition has proven to be...most logical." Shockwave sounded intrigued, and you felt a little leap of optimism in your chest, until he spoke next.

"However, my decision is not final. We shall pose the request to Lord Megatron himself.”

Frag.


	6. Pawn Promotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hail to the King - Avenged Sevenfold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still whittling away. I'm really not sure how long this is going to go, but I have a plan. I think. We'll see.

Despite having passed the first round, you were now back in the glass cage and on the way to the throne room, held in Shockwave’s servo. Nerves were biting at the back of your head, sending prickles of agitation down your neck.

This could go very, very badly. Sure, Shockwave had done horrible things to both humans and bots, but the interrogation could’ve gone a lot worse than it did. You had no illusion that the scientist would stick up for you if Megatron got angry, but at the very least he seemed more lenient than the overlord.

Maybe you were overthinking. Surely Shockwave’s approval of your request held -some- weight.

Hopefully.

The glass cage was getting filled with smoke a bit faster than it had the first time. You admitted to yourself that you were nervous. 

The only time you’d really even seen the Decepticon leader was when a battle broke out in the middle of a mission and you happened to be there, and even from far away, the bot was intimidating as hell.

By the time Shockwave arrived at the throne room, your little glass container was completely clouded. You could see a shadow ahead, sitting upon a larger throne at the head of the room.

Fragging scrap here we go.

“My Lord Megatron,” Shockwave began, giving a generous bow to the overlord. “I’m sure Soundwave has already informed you of events, however I saw it logical to present the human for your consideration, myself.” 

As Shockwave approached the throne, you felt dread creep up your spine. You could hardly see him but the sheer size of the overlord’s shadow was enough to make you realize what was actually happening.

You had an audience with the Decepticon leader. In a clouded out glass container. After saying you’ll spy for them. The frag were you doing with your life.

Guess it was better than getting familiar with the bottom of a Decepticon’s pede.

You almost tripped when the sphere was handed over, stumbling when it was turned in various directions for observation.

Megatron twisted the sphere a few more times, trying to get a view of the creature inside. A few gaps in the smoke cleared and you caught glimpses of an angled visage, mouth full of sharp teeth formed in a sneer of disgust.

“What nonsense is this?” He grumbled, turning the cage so the opening was on top before he tapped the release. The top popped open and let some of the smoke escape. 

You waved an arm to clear out the rest before the overlord snapped it shut again, not wanting to touch you himself.

“Bad habit. My apologies.” You reply quickly, lowering your head a bit and quickly adding, “Uh...Lord Megatron.” You glance up with a sheepish but short smile, subtly slipping your vape into your pocket.

The overlord regarded you for a moment before looking back to Shockwave.

“This is the one you were speaking with?” Megatron asked a question, but looked back at you, turning the sphere around a few more times. 

It didn’t seem like a direct question. More of the overlord musing to himself over how a pitiful organic could be of any use.

“Tell me, Shockwave,” He continued, a long claw drawing a scratch across the glass and making you wince from the sound. “What did you gather from speaking with this thing?” You wanted to make a face at ‘this thing’, but sitting in Megatron’s servo quickly reminded you not to.

Shockwave gave another slight bow and replied, “During our conversation, I determined this human to be significantly more logical and composed than most others of the species.” Ah, backhanded compliment. “Despite the...impertinence of the organic, they confirmed both the suspected scouting pattern and secondary suspicion.” 

The overlord gave a low growl of contemplation, then flipped the sphere around to make you trip and fall on your ass. He smirked and let you have a moment before finally addressing you, “Is that what you want, human? To betray your precious Autobots and save yourself?” He taunted, bemused by your seemingly dejected expression.

It was far too late to turn back now. You were sitting in the overlord’s servo, easy prey for him to crush if he pleased. You made your decision long before this moment arrived.

Moving to stand, you finally turned your face to gaze up into the optics of the gladiatorial overlord, gaze steeled as you replied, “I have the power to save myself, not them. If you were going to kill me, I’d stand on my own two feet and not bother praying for them to rescue me. So yes, that’s what I want.” 

Megatron genuinely looked surprised at the reply, then a devilish grin split his features.

“As you wish.”


	7. Chipping the Ferret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lost pet can always be found.

For some reason, that instance of approval from Megatron eased much of the stress you’d been feeling for the last ten minutes. Even though it was well known he despised organic life forms, you felt just a little satisfied that he accepted your proposal (with Shockwave’s help, of course).

The overlord held up the glass cage and handed it back to the scientist, shifting in his seat.

“Take the human back to your lab and I’ll have Soundwave prepare an itinerary of information for them to look for upon their return.” He ordered, looking back to you afterward.

“I’ll also have Knockout prepare a tracking device for our little turboferret. We can’t have you getting lost, now can we?” The rhetorical question wasn’t lost on you. After all, people microchipped their pets in case they got lost, didn’t they?

With a final bow and dismissal, Shockwave left the throne room and began heading back to the Laboratory. You stood with crossed arms on the way, contemplating your life choices until the stoic scientist decided to speak.

“I’m sure you’re aware at how rare it is for Lord Megatron to even speak to organics, much less agree with an illogical-sounding plan.” He stated flatly, optic still trained ahead but you felt like he could still sense your reaction.

“I’m...aware. Apparently I’m just illogically logical in that case.” It was a terrible joke. You almost stumbled when Shockwave brought the sphere up to look directly at you and reply, “Indeed, you are an oddity, human. However, I don’t recommend failing your tasks.”

Another warning. You nod solemnly in agreement. 

The walk back to the lab wasn’t as long as you expected. While the halls seemed identical at first, you soon realized the more important rooms and quarters were located near the throne room, and the lower ranked areas were further away.

It made sense, but you couldn’t believe you never noticed. Who knew you’d get familiar with the Decepticon battle ship so quickly.  
Once you were back in the lab, Shockwave placed you on his workstation instead of the barren desk he’d put you on before. A quick click and you were out of your glass bubble. You watched him move to set the container aside before moving to his current project and picking up where he’d left off. 

You watched for a moment, pulling your vape back out and taking a draw as you watched him work. You had to admit, it was more interesting seeing Shockwave working up close. You were curious as to what it was meant to be.

The bot was focused on his soldering, optics zoomed in to a tighter lens in order to watch the process closely. 

You looked up at Shockwave, then back to the device, and stepped a little closer. When he made no move to stop you, another step was taken.

Eventually, you got further up the desk and sat near a large box of varying wires, glancing at the bright solder once in a while, but also trying not to get spots in your eyes from the flash.

A long period of silent work passed, and you finally looked over again to ask, “What is it for?” 

Shockwave paused, tilting his helm slightly in your direction before going back to what he was doing.

Just as it seemed he wasn’t going to answer you, the scientist replied, “It’s for a new device Lord Megatron has requested.” 

You gave a small ‘oh’ and nodded. You didn’t want to press for answers while he was working. 

Another twenty minutes or so passed, and you heard the pressurized door open to the lab. You looked up and saw a bright red, flashy mech walk in with a small box. 

Knockout announced himself, “So sorry to barge in like this, Shockwave, but Lord Megatron gave me orders to chip our little spy. It’ll only take a moment and I’ll be out of your wires, promise.” 

The flirtatious bot walked over to your side of the table and pulled out a rather large device with a small, hollow plastic tip on the end. Knockout motioned for you to come toward him, like someone would call a cat to be pet.

You make a face and begrudgingly stand up, walking over. 

“Let’s get it over with I guess.” You grumble, surprised when the medic turns you around. “Wait, where is this going, anyway?!” You question, quickly getting your answer when the plastic tip touches your left back shoulder.

“Now just hold still sweetheart.” Knockout coos before pulling the trigger. 

A hot red flash goes through your whole body and your vision whites out for a second, leaving you slightly disoriented but still standing. You smell something hot and turn your head with a slight wobble, seeing and -smelling- hot flesh on your back. A gigantic red splotch crept over your shoulder from the implant site.

You reached up to touch the tender skin and realized there was nothing on the surface short of a small incision. You rotated your arm and felt it pinch, but other than some slight discomfort, it actually wasn’t bad.

“See? Was that too hard?” Knockout chided, taking up his tools to put them away. You glare at the cherry red medic as he turns on a heel and walks out with a, “I’ll see you around pet!” and a cackle as he leaves.

You’re beginning to second-guess your decision.

Shockwave never stopped working on his project, but you didn’t see his subtle glance after Knockout implanted the chip.

The scientist continued working in silence, leaving you to sit and rub your now-aching shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'll start putting the notes at the end to avoid obnoxious text at the beginnings. Part 7 included very tiny dust-bunny sized fluff. Now we're getting somewhere.


	8. The List

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curiouser and curiouser...

Your shoulder pain reduced to a dull, throbbing ache after an hour or so. The redness was still present, though it had turned a slightly lighter pink as the skin slowly calmed back down.

You decided to keep watching Shockwave work to try and ignore the annoying pains, watching as he moved on to wiring a new piece of the device together. 

Just as another solder spark went off, you swore you saw something blue in your vision off to the side. Turning your head quickly, it disappeared. You reached up and rubbed your eyes, assuming it was just another spot from staring at the bright solder too long.

A few seconds later, you saw it again, but it didn’t go away. You rubbed your eyes again until they were blurry from watering and the blue dot was clear as day. 

“What the f-” Your curse was cut short when the dot expanded into a full-blown HUD, floating in front of your vision like something out of a VR game.

“Woah, wait what.” You held up your hands, trying to pass them through where the HUD had appeared, momentarily freaked out by it’s sudden appearance.

Shockwave was apparently having none of it since you were distracting his progress and looked over at you. “What is it now.” He groused, watching you wave your arms like an idiot.

“There’s...there’s a thing. A display in my vision.” You reply distractedly, finally putting your arms down and looking at the small flashing icon. Watching it for a moment seemed to trigger it to open, a list of tasks (thankfully in English) popping open.

Shockwave sighed, sounding like the verbal equivalent of an eye roll.

“Be logical. It’s just a part of the tracker Knockout installed. Calm down.” He chided, moving to get back to work. 

You sat and scrolled through the list, taking note of the wild variants of information you were apparently supposed to obtain. Exact Base and subsidiary base locations, levels of energon reserves, shift schedules, and so on.

Some of them sounded easier than others, but you noted that the last item specifically said ‘Retrieve within two weeks. Report location will be given once all items have been marked or time has ended.’

A sense of worry pecked at the back of your mind. ‘When time has ended’ sounded a bit too ominous for your taste.

Another icon popped up, blinking red. You focus on it and the box opens, revealing a direct order that read, “Turboferret: report to the main hangar for transport. Posthaste.” 

You made a face at the code name and the HUD closed. 

You stood and dusted off your clothes before walking over to the edge of the table and looked down. There were a couple boxes you could probably climb down without bothering Shockwave again, but they looked precarious if you misjudged a jump.

While glancing down, you didn’t see the scientist reach over and lightly pinch the back of your shirt, lifting you off the table to set you on the floor. You look up at his gigantic form curiously and he merely states, “Go.”

You swallow thickly and nod, taking a few jogging steps away before turning and shouting ‘thanks!’ over the buzz of solder.

Shockwave doesn’t turn from his project. 

You make your way out the giant doors to hopefully find your way to the hangar.

As the door slides open, the scientist pauses, then continues his work.

You trot down the hallway, hoping to find an Eradicon that might give you a lift. Primus knows how you’re actually going to get back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another silly little in-between bit. I have to say, it's pretty fun writing this and I'm totally down for suggestions in the comments. It ended up leaning more toward the Prime universe but not exactly 100% I suppose. Thanks for reading!


	9. Five Point Landing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That could've gone worse...or better.

After ten minutes of wandering around and having to ask a passing Eradicon for directions, you finally make it to the main hangar of the ship. You swore you just ran a marathon trying to find the fragging thing.

You slowed to a stop, hunching over to catch your breath for a moment before looking up and seeing an irate seeker tapping his pede on the metal floor.

“Took you long enough!” He screeched, making you wince at the octave. Of course, it was Starscream. You couldn’t just be dropped off by an Eradicon.

Once you could actually breathe again, you stood and walked up, gesturing down at your poor legs and retorted, “I have small human legs and I’m not made for marathon running.” Glitch.

The joke just made Starscream huff in annoyance, his wings flicked sharply.

“Whatever, ferret. Let’s just get this ridiculous delivery over with. I’m far too busy to even deal with you, but our gracious Lord Megatron insisted I take you myself.” The snark was practically a visible aura around the seeker at this point.

You weren’t really surprised that Megatron was basically sending Starscream to babysit, but hopefully the journey wouldn’t be too bad.

Then again, this was Starscream.

The flier huffed again and transformed, his cockpit popping open afterward. “Get in, loser.” 

You cocked a brow at the human meme and approached, having a little trouble getting up the ladder until Starscream shifted and basically threw you into the seat, glass snapping shut as his engines started.

“Wait, you’re not just going to-” The words muted in your mouth as the seeker took off at high speed, throwing you back into the seat at an awkward angle.

It probably took less than ten minutes for Starscream to arrive at your home, but as you saw him approach you realized he wasn’t going slow enough to land. 

You felt your stomach drop as Starscream swooped low over your backyard, fanning his stabilizers harshly as he pulled a barrel roll and dumped you about 7 feet from the ground before flawlessly taking off once again.

You had a mouth full of grass and barely managed to sit up before the seeker was already gone in the distance, a high pitched cackle echoing back.

You spit the dirt away from your mouth and immediately raise both middle fingers at the jet, shouting out, “SON OF A GLITCH!!” at the top of your lungs.

A voice in your head screeches, “YOU DON’T NEED TO SHOUT IDIOT, YOU’LL BLOW MY AUDIAL RECEPTORS!” 

You reel for a moment from the piercing response, then realize they probably put a communication system in the tracker as well. 

Starscream’s snarky voice sounded once again, “You’d better be careful, meatbag, you’ll never know who’s listening on the other end!” 

Did...did Starscream just tell you that pretty much any Decepticon can tap your tracker and listen in? Can they see through your HUD too?

This was too much for first thing in the morning. You’d been stuck on the ship for just under twenty four hours and this whole ordeal had you exhausted.

You didn’t respond. Instead, you stood and tried to brush all the dirt clods off your clothes and head into the house.

You head over to the fridge and see the sticky note from your mom to remind you to clean the house while your parents were gone on vacation. You sigh, and open the fridge. You grab a cold slice of leftover pizza and take a big bite.

Despite being gone for a whole day, your phone hadn’t rung nor beeped with a new message. You pull the device out of your pocket and realize the battery had died. Once you went over and plugged it in, the screen lit up and it booted back on in a few seconds.

The alerts that came from your phone sounded like someone strangling an Eradicon with a live electrical wire.

Some were from the Autobots and many were from Jack, Miko, and even Raph. There were so many you didn’t bother going through them all and just sent a group text.

‘Hey, sorry!! My phone died and I wasn’t feeling good yesterday. I couldn’t find my charger until this morning!! I’m ok, promise!’

You let out a heavy sigh and throw your head back in exhaustion, and wonder if getting skinned alive had been the better deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was -really- fun to write. The snark, the sass, the landing. The trilogy.


	10. Scopaesthesia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The extrasensory feeling of being watched...

Though your body was begging for sleep after the fiasco with the cons, they’d managed to deliver you home early enough to actually go to classes today. You’d known Jack, Miko, and Raph since high school, so you all just kinda kept hanging out after heading for community college. 

None of you really wanted to go out of state, so you still got to hang out at the base most afternoons.

You looked at the clock and groaned in frustration. Your next class was in an hour and you didn’t even have time for a power nap. Scrap it all.

With a huff, you go back to the fridge and grab an energy drink, already planning on about two more cups of coffee afterward and go to gather your things. Hope the Decepticons liked watching you learn about college-level algebra.

On your walk to school, your phone pinged with a happy beep, signaling a message from Raph. You take a sip of your drink and tap it. 

‘Hey, hope you’re feeling better. If you’re not sick, we’re all meeting up at the base this afternoon for a video game tournament. Face Smash 4 just came out and I’m bringing it over.’

You smile a little and juggle your drink for a second before getting both hands on the keyboard to reply.

‘Yah, I’m feeling a lot better today! I’ll see you guys after class.’

After locking the screen, you see that damn blue dot light up in the corner of your sight. You take an annoyed sip and glance at it, bringing the HUD up again.

The icon for your list blinked and opened, the section under ‘primary base location’ having changed to a yellow with a quiet ‘ping’. 

“Yah, I get it. ‘Objective in progress to completion.’ I’m not colorblind.” You grouse, another ping sounding with a piercing decibel.

“Right, ok, less sass. Jeez!” You whisper to yourself, sticking a finger in your ear to ease the ringing. 

The HUD closed altogether and collapsed back to the blue dot, apparently satisfied with the response.

You walked the rest of the way to class without so much as a peep from the tracker, but you couldn’t help feeling like multiple sets of optics were watching your every move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short little in-between for this one. Ferret sass is the best sass.


	11. Snake in the Grass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything according to plan...

During class, you occasionally noted the blue dot would fade and then light up again, similar to a going live icon on a video. 

As distracting as that was, you did your best to keep up with the classwork and not fall asleep during the lectures.

Once released from your institutional learning courses, the dot stopped blinking and remained solid. Guess you were on candid camera.

Headed out of the history building, you trotted down the stairs to the curb just as Jack and Arcee rolled up to the side.

“Hey guys.” You wave slightly and offer a tired smile. You’d just finished a coffee in class and it hadn’t kicked in to take over the drink from this morning.

“Hey.” The two reply simultaneously since no one was really around to hear Arcee’s voice. Jack flipped up his visor and looked a bit concerned.

“You sure you’re feeling alright? You still look kinda tired.” Jack raised a worried brow. You felt like Optimus was speaking through him in some sort of psychic link. Those two always worried about everyone.

“Yah, I’m fine. I just didn’t get much sleep last night because I felt so bad.” You brush off the concern with a small smile, trying to act normal. A double ping sounded in your ear that no one else could hear.

Jack just shrugged and picked up the extra helmet and tossed it to you.

“Well, you better be on your A-game for Face Smash 4. Winner gets to pick our next field trip.” He joked, watching you fumble with the inability to ‘think fast’ as you nearly dropped the head gear.

You grin and reply, “You just watch me! Give me another energy drink and I’ll whoop all your asses.” 

Arcee chimed in, “Not if you get ‘whooped’ first.” You all chuckle.

After putting the helmet on, you settle in the seat behind Jack and off you went. The base was a little further from the college campus than the high school, but with few back roads, it wouldn’t take long to get there.

Watching the scenery pass by, you saw the blue dot change to a bright red, HUD popping up with a flurry of scans of the passing objects and street signs. All the movement was starting to turn your stomach until Arcee slowed for a red light.

You reached up, acting like you were adjusting your helmet, but really hoping your head would stop spinning. The incessant focal points finally calmed to an acceptable level and you glanced around, letting it catch the street sign and a few other points of interest before the light turned green.

Once the disorientating city scape was passed and you made it to the highway, the visual overload died down and a grid swept your vision to track the distance. You heard Jack say something over the howl of wind and replied with ‘HUH?’.

“I said, you sure you’re alright? You lost grip for a minute.” He called back, head turned to look at you since Arcee was really driving anyway.

“Yah! I’m good!” You say with a thumbs up. Jack just nods with an ‘ok’ and looks forward again. 

Everything’s fine! You just have some alien technology planted in your back that’s giving you visions of shit that’s not there and sending information to the Decepticons. It’s fine! It’s fine.

The closer you got to the base, the more you knew it was ‘not fine’. The HUD in your vision was already flashing scans of the surrounding area, trying to pick up visuals of obvious entrances or weak points.

Arcee slowed and pulled carefully off the edge of the road onto the dirt. The nigh-daily wind storms across the desert usually blew the tire marks away, so it wasn’t normally a big deal.

The two-wheeler got back up to speed and a trail of dust flew from her back wheel, sending rocks flying. In the distance, you could see the familiar rock formation of the Autobot base. You heard Arcee comm Ratchet for a ground bridge, and a moment later, you all sped into a glowing gate, traveling down a bright green portal until the rec room of the Autobot base was revealed.

Arcee rolled through and off the ramp, turning slightly to let yourself and Jack off before she transformed, wiping off the dust from the desert and picking out some rocks.

Your HUD was going -ballistic-. Everything was being scanned, processed, organized, and rescanned. Your hands reached up to grasp the helmet, visor still down. You tried not to let it distract you, hoping by the time you got the thing off the scanner would slow the hell down.

You absently heard Jack ask if you were ok again, but you nodded and pretended to struggle with the head gear.

“Yah- I just...it’s stuck, hold on.” With a feigned wrench, you pop the helmet off and almost at the same time, the HUD pings it’s completed scan. You blink, hair wild after removing the helmet, and Jack and Arcee just laugh at your expression.

“Y-you look like Einstein with that hair!” Jack manages, still laughing his ass off. Arcee’s laugh was more of a snicker.

You make an effort to try and fix your helmet hair with an embarrassed fluster.

“C’mon, it can’t be that bad!” You retort, going over to a nearby gigantic mirror. Ok, it was that bad.

You make a face and see the HUD hovering in front of your reflection, a grim reminder of exactly what happened yesterday.

You turn when you hear Miko and Raph’s voices heading into the room, alongside Bumblebee’s beeps and Bulkhead’s take on the conversation. Your hair was still pretty mussed, but a collective of ‘hey, hi, hello, and beep’ greeted you.

You messed with your hair a bit more as everyone walked up, but finally resigned to the new do. 

“Hey guys.” You reply with a smile, immediately getting a hug from Miko that felt like a flying tackle.

“We missed you yesterday!” She squealed, giving you a bear hug that squeezed the air out of your lungs.

Raph adjusted his glasses with a small smile. “Yah, we were all worried since you never replied. You usually have your phone turned on.” Bumblebee beeped in agreement, nodding and making a few more beeps that sounded concerned.

“Bee says we would’ve come visited you if we knew you were sick.” Raph translated, and Bulkhead nodded in agreement.

“Yah, even boss bot got worried when you didn’t see his message.” You made a grimace, looking disappointed in yourself on the outside, but internally you squirmed. You never actually read all the messages, but you had seen that Optimus sent one.

Frag. 

The HUD was doing it’s thing again, scanning Bee and Bulkhead. It seemed to ignore Raph and Miko, preferring to assess whatever the Decepticons were more interested in.

You saw a flash of white and red behind Bee’s leg and lifted an arm up to wave and call out, “Hey, Ratchet.” The medic had a data pad in his hands, busy reading something before he looked up.

“Oh, so you did survive.” Everyone looked at him with varying degrees of ‘what’ and ‘dude!’ expressions. The only thing that broke the tension was your laughter at the dry humor.

“I’m not dead yet, doc. Didn’t even need a defibrillator.” You shot back, everyone else just rolling their eyes (or optics) at the joke.

Ratchet cracked a smirk and went back to his data pad. “At least -someone- gets my jokes.”

While everyone was reeling for the terrible comedy, the echoing of heavy pedes announced the presence of the Autobot leader. Optimus soon appeared in the doorway with that small smile he always had when he saw his friends.

You smile back, trying not to allow it to look forced as the HUD turned red again and scanned the semi from across the room. The checklist lit up, marking off multiple sections once the scan was complete. 

That had nearly halved your list.

Optimus approached you and the others with a happy expression, yet somewhat tired. He must have been working all day.

“It’s good to see you again.” He greeted, walking up next to the other Autobots to speak. “I was relieved when I received your message. We were all worried what may have happened, but I see you’re in good health.” 

You nod a few times with another smile.

“I’m feeling a lot better. I didn’t mean to scare anyone.” You reply, everyone smiling back at you.

Primus, this was like a knife to the heart.

Miko was the first to change the subject, clapping her hands and spreading her arms up with the excited exclamation, “Hey! Now we’re all here, let’s get this tournament started!” A response of cheers came afterward and everyone went to set things up.

It looked to be a fun night ahead, but you had a feeling it might be cut short.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, so that whole thing took a while. Will the Autobots have a fun game night without any interruption? Will you succeed in gathering the information you need? Can your heart take this?
> 
> Are you the new Decepticon Reality show?
> 
> Tune in next time!


	12. Furious Fowl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone isn't happy about the new kid on the block.

Unbeknownst to you, back on the Decepticon ship, your video feed was being played almost everywhere. With unlimited access to the transmitter, even the Eradicons were watching their screens with curiosity.

Starscream had outright refused to participate, walking around in a huff and shrilly shouting at any Eradicons he caught watching the vid screens.

The seeker had just slapped some sense into another bot, sending them scuttling away to continue their work. He glared up at the screen which held a first-person view of your interactions with the Autobots and the game you were playing. 

He snarled up his faceplate and fired a shot at the display, shattering the glass and leaving the device sizzling with sparks as he walked off with an irritated flick of his wings.

-That little meatbag is taking over this damn ship with that stupid video feed! What’s so interesting about an organic playing -games- with the Autobots?!-

Starscream stomped down the hall, in search of more Eradicons until he rounded a corner and saw Shockwave walking in the opposite direction. It took half a click to realize the scientist wasn’t reading a document or reports, -but watching the same feed everyone else was-.

That was it. That was the last straw.

The furious flier turned on his heel and headed straight for the throne room, irrevocably torqued off.

Starscream practically burst into the room, about to hit a whole new octave of pain for audial sensors. When he saw the monitors, his fury deflated like a popped tire.

Both Megatron and Soundwave had the feed displayed on one of the screens, either one glancing up once in a while to keep an eye on the events.

However, the seeker overcame his disappointment quickly, and his wings flicked upward in an assertive stance.

“Sire, the entire ship is enamoured with the feed from that stupid organic!” He announced, getting a disapproving glare from the overlord. Starscream reworked his vocals and continued, “Even the Eradicons are stopping to watch the screens. For Nemesis’ sake, SHOCKWAVE is watching it! They-” 

He was cut off by Megatron’s sneer of obvious annoyance and booming reply, “Then do not watch it, Starscream. Unlike yourself, Soundwave has taken it upon himself to analyze the data we’re receiving from the feed. In fact,” In an eerie way, Soundwave pulled up a secondary screen on the display, filled with scrolling data that was highlighted as new. “This human is proving more useful than -you- in recent cycles.”

The screen cut back to the initial feed, and Starscream was still angry, yet defeated. In one last snarky response, he added, “Fine. Enjoy your television show then.” The seeker turned and stormed out, throwing up his arms in frustration and mentally making a note to find and torment you the next time you got on the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This...was the most fun I've had so far. I couldn't help it. It's kinda short but I wanted to give a peek back at the Decepticon ship now that you're the hot topic. 
> 
> Who knew they liked reality tv?


	13. A Precision Instrument

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sound of chimes is almost deafening.

Though the gaming tournament was mostly yourself, the other humans, Bee, Arcee, and Bulkhead, the lot of you had tried to figure out a roster first. Since there was an odd number of players and neither Ratchet nor Optimus were participating (though they did drop by from time to time), you volunteered to play a double game against two opponents in the first round. If they won, they’d play each other, and if you won, you moved on to the next round.

While waiting for your turn, you wandered off into the med bay to bother Ratchet. Despite his grumpy demeanor and general prickliness, you both appreciated a good, dry wit.

Taking a drag of your vape, you walk over next to the table the medic is currently working over with an annoyed frown on his faceplates.

You go around the side to a particularly well placed set of stair-stacked boxes and climb up them. You regard the mess of parts for a moment before finally speaking up.

“Broken again?” You ask nonchalantly, taking another drag. Ratchet looks up slowly and narrows his optics.

“I thought I told you not to do that in here.” The response had more bark than bite. You shrug.

“And I told you its only slightly worse than ambient air. At least I’m not getting tar in the ventilation system.” You offer a small smile and Ratchet glowers for a moment longer before returning to the device with a ‘hmph’.

You vape again and make sure to blow the cloud away from the table.

“Did Bulkhead sit on it again?” You ask, watching the medic snap off the rest of a fragmented piece of wire.

“No, I slagging sit it on a table for two clicks and it gets knocked off and -stepped on-.” Ratchet grumbled mostly to himself, despite answering your question.

You raised your brows and glanced at the bits, HUD analyzing each of the pieces and immediately determining which were viable and which were not. You walk around the mess and attempt to sit on something box-shaped before Ratchet snaps his helm over and barks, “Don’t touch that!” 

You leap up with a wobble and hold your hands up defensively. “I won’t, I won’t.” You assure, resigning to a standing position instead.

Ratchet sighs and pinches the bridge of his nasal structure.

“Sorry, that’s the replacement parts I pulled to fix this fragging thing. It’s the fifth time it’s broken and I only have one.” He admitted, a ping in your ear signaling another jump in the list.

“Wait,” You respond, looking down at the bits again. “You use this thing all the time, and you don’t have a replacement? What the hell else have you fixed so much?!” You ask in surprise, immediately hearing a gentle chime of approval from the tracker.

That was the right question to ask.

Ratchet rolled his helm in an overly exaggerated way with a groan.

“EVERYTHING. All we have left are tools I brought with us. I’m almost completely out of cybermetal solder, not to mention patches. Do you know how hard it is to use human-grade plates to fix Cybertonian armor? It’s like putting paper mache on a building support. Useless.” The medic huffed the last word in disappointment before picking up another trashed piece and tossing it away.

Three more pings of approval sounded in your ears.

You raised your brow in agreement mid-inhale and blew the smoke upward to be sucked up by the vent. Even if the military was helping to supply things for the Autobots, the materials were far inferior to anything they actually needed half the time.

“Maybe you should just tie a bungee cord to it and hang it up.” You suggested, taking another drag. Ratchet stopped for a second and gave you a blank look.

“Where do you come up with these things.” He said flatly, more sarcastic than anything, but you decided to answer anyway.

“Just logic.” You respond, blowing the smoke away.

Ratchet barked with a short laugh and went back to fixing. “You sound like Shockwave.”

Your eyes widen in surprise at the comment, HUD light quickly flashing before returning to a solid color.

You weren’t sure what to say after that, but thankfully you heard Miko call for you from the rec room. Stretching a bit, you gave Ratchet a wave.

“Well, hopefully it’s not too hard to fix this time. I’ll see you later, Ratchet. I’ve got some aft to kick.” You grin, and despite his lack of attention, the medic gives you a ‘knock’em dead kid’ as you leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun! The List is coming to fruition, and all those wind chime-like sounds in your head are pointing you in the right direction. At least, for getting in good with the Decepticons.
> 
> Starscream's going to have a shit fit.


	14. Check Mate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jericho - Celldweller (End of an Empire)

You jogged a bit to get back into the rec room so as not to make the others wait. Bee and Jack were your opponents for this round, both of them already sitting in front of the screen and picking their fighters.

“Hey, no fair!” You call, hopping over the back of the couch and making Jack bounce a bit. He grinned and leaned forward, scrolling through the characters faster.

“You snooze you lose!” He replied with an affirming beep from Bee. You hastily pick up the third controller and boot it up.

Apparently in Face Smash 4, you could pick three characters, but the function for teams worked for two or four only, so it was basically a free-for-all to see who would come out on top. At the very least, that gave Bee and Jack a handicap despite playing two-against-one.

Bee picked his character first, going for the fast-paced ninja-like fighter. You and Jack were neck-in-neck searching for the one you wanted and you found it first. A female fighter in all black with white hair. She was rumored to be difficult to use, but if you could pull off her combos, they were amazing. 

Jack gave an overly dramatic ‘ugh’ in response to your pick.

“Maan, I wanted to try that one.” He complained, scrolling back through.

You just grinned and replied, “You snooze you lose!” With a chorus of laughter behind.

Once Jack locked in his character, he turned to you and Bee and informed you, “Ok, so first round is a practice round like the other ones. Figure out your character before someone wins. After that, we’re playing for real.” You and Bee exchange a look and then nod at Jack with determined expressions, all three of you focusing on the screen as the game started.

You may have given yourself a small advantage by watching videos online of the character play in beta, but you were also sure Raph had been studying the game mechanics religiously before he even got a hold of the game. You’re not saying a round between the two of you would be fair, but at least you’d stand a chance.

The practice round started and you got slightly distracted by the constant flashing of the dot in your HUD, trying to ignore it as you narrowly dodged a double attack from both sides. You tried to multitask jumping away and subtly staring at the dot (which happened to be near a health meter on the screen) to try and get it to go away.

It just flashed faster. You made a face and tried to concentrate, the three characters flying around the screen. Bee was trying to keep his distance and wait for a good time to attack, which was a good strategy, but the character Jack picked could fire projectiles. Bee’s character got smacked by a few in a row.

You were focusing more on the dodge timing, rolling out of the way just before a hit landed. Jack was going all out steamroller on you both.

Bee’s character eventually took too much damage and was fired off screen by a heavy move from Jack’s character, leaving you and him to fight over the stage. Bumblebee beeped an irritated line of sound and Raph gave him a consoling pat. “It’s alright Bee. It’s just the practice round.” 

Jack was still looking at the screen, but he added, “Sorry Bee.” 

Your and Jack’s characters exchanged multiple blows, the two of you going all out despite the ‘practice round’ promise. It wasn’t until you misclicked a button that Jack finally managed to land another power move and send your character flying.

You let out a frustrated groan as Jack’s character showboated on screen. Miko leaned between you two on the couch and exclaimed, “Alright, enough with the practice. Let’s get to the real deal! Three way death fight, go!” Bulkhead pumped his fist and agreed, “Yah! Last one standing moves on to round 2!”

Jack, yourself, and Bee all exchanged a competitive glance and the game flashed ‘Death Match’ on the screen. Time to shine.

This time around, your opponents seemed to change tactics. Jack was more careful with his attacks, sprinting in and hopping back to take less damage from any retaliation. Bee’s character was hopping around the screen like mad, hitting anything he could without getting smacked in re  
turn.

\---

Back on the Decepticon ship, most of the Eradicons were watching the view of the game with increasing interest. They’d seen what character was yours and followed the fight closely. It was just a game, but watching it was pretty entertaining.

A close dodge drew a collective ‘ooh’ as the bots crowded closer to the screen. Since Starscream hadn’t come back yet, they figured watching a few more minutes couldn’t hurt.

\---

Your brow knit in concentration, eyes darting around the screen to keep track of the two of them and try to avoid any crazy strong attacks. When you saw an opening as Bee landed next to Jack’s character, you finally pulled off the complicated button press for your character’s ultimate move.

The screen lit up with a black edge, tinting the screen dark as your character glowed, eyes aflame as they struck a pose and two gigantic dragons flew from your side of the stage, hitting both characters multiple times before they flew off the screen in a digital explosion. 

You threw your arms up and nearly lost the controller with a loud shout of “YESSSS.” Jack and Bumblebee let out a groan of defeat, leaving you to victory dance on the couch.

\---

At nearly the same moment you had, varying groups of Eradicons had shared in your victory shout, having gotten into watching the fight a little -too- much. 

A screech of “GET BACK TO WORK” echoed through the halls soon after, sending the Eradicons scrambling back to their stations. It was fun while it lasted.

\---

You grinned and sat the controller down, having stopped dancing for the moment but still elated at the spectacular victory.

“Alright, so I guess that means I made it to round 2,” You claimed, stretching out your arms before standing up. “So you guys do the other two matches and I’ll be back in a minute.”

Miko hopped up and took your place, waving as you walked past. “You better be back to watch me and Arcee!” You waved back with a ‘don’t worry, I will’ and headed toward the hall.

While that was fun, the HUD in your vision never dropped away. You acted like you were headed to the restroom further back in the base, but the list was still on your mind.

You knew it was dumb luck that you’d managed to check off as many items as you had already, but the more difficult ones were what concerned you. On the brink of being called an overachiever, you slowed your pace and stopped in the hall, the HUD flashing red once again as it performed another scan.

You turned your head to the side, able to see the waves of light cutting through unshielded inner walls and labeling the contents of the rooms. Berth room, office, closet… you did a 360 and kept walking, taking your sweet time.

It wasn’t until a repetitive series of chimes sounded in your ear that you glanced at a large, reinforced doorway to your left. You’d never paid it much attention during your visits to the base, but the HUD was repeatedly scanning the contents of the room.

You heard five or six rapid, consecutive pings and then sudden silence. You had no idea what that meant. 

Figuring it was just something random, you turned around and began heading back toward the rec room, thinking that had been enough time to ‘run to the restroom’ before the next game.

A new message popped up on your HUD, flashing red.

When it opened, there were only two words written in bold lettering.

“Well done.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If that all felt rushed, I had the sense that the initial 'list' was more of a test than anything for the reader. Not impossible, but kind of a stress-test to see if they're 'made of tougher stuff' than other humans.
> 
> Thanks for making it this far! I've still got lots of plans for more, so I hope you keep reading!


	15. Starry Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You think too much.

You paused mid-step after reading the text, unsure of what to call the emotion you were feeling. 

Pride? 

Shame? 

Relief? 

It was something between the three. A tingle jumped up your spine to your neck, swearing it felt almost like someone had run their hand lightly up your back.

You began to walk again, taking a slow drag from your vape as you strode down the hall. The HUD pinned the message to the bottom left icon as a reminder.

The look on your face when you walked back into the rec room must have been more obvious than you realized, since the first thing Jack asked was, “You still ok?” 

You blinked out of surprise, snapping out of grim thoughts.

“What? Yah, I’m just super tired still. I’ll be able to make this last round, but I think I need to get home soon.” You admitted with feigned apology. Honestly, you just wanted out of the base to be emo by yourself for a while.

Jack nodded and sighed, “Yah, I understand that. Well, your round is next anyway.” You nodded with a silly smile and headed back to the couch.

The semi-finals had been Arcee vs Miko, and You vs Raph. Bulkhead and Jack were the cheer squad during the first match, after which Miko was announced the winner when her character smashed Arcee’s with a giant hammer.

Your match with Raph was embarrassingly short. It probably took less than five minutes for him to flawlessly stun-lock and punch your character off-screen. You gave a loud sigh at the defeat, but still had a smile on your face.

“Well, I’m out.” You state, Bee giving Raph a pat on the back at the victory. He adjusted his glasses sheepishly and replied, “It’s ok, I uh, had some practice already.” 

You shrug off the loss and get up to let Miko jump in for the final round. Everyone decided that the last match should be a best 2-out-of-3, and you were already pretty drained.

“Alright guys, I’m tired as hell so I think I’m knocking out early tonight.” You announce, a few ‘awws’ coming up in response.

“Well, hope you feel better. We’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Miko asked happily, with Bulkhead chiming in, “Yah, get a good recharge.” The others agreed and you gave a tired smile.

“I will. I’m gonna go poke Ratchet to send me home. Bye guys!” You bid farewell and head back toward the med bay.

After you made it through the bridge to your backyard, the HUD finally downsized back to the edge of your vision. You let out a long, drawn out sigh and looked up at the night sky. 

Standing in the dark, without the need of a forced smile or normality, your mind wanders back to the party.

-You sound like Shockwave-

Ratchet’s words echo in your mind again. While your initial reaction was shock, now, you’re wondering if he was right. 

You glance across the stars, looking for the constellations you know and wonder, is that why the Decepticons even gave you the time of day? Being an organic, paltry similarity to one of their own that was barely acceptable enough to be considered an asset?

You break from the trance and rub your eyes firmly, heading back into the house.

You just wanted to go to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter for a transition. With the list apparently finished, and a lot more time to go, who's to say the Decepticons won't just give you another one since you're such an overachiever?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	16. Playing Favorites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You may have done your job too well.

After making it to your room, you merely tossed your bag on the bed and flopped down on the comforter. The plush fabric was so comfortable you immediately blacked out into a well-deserved sleep.

You didn’t have class the next day, so it was about time you got to relax a bit.

Or so you’d thought.

The clang of a heavy object on a metal floor jolted you awake and you nearly fell off your bed, sitting up in alert at the sound. It took a couple seconds to realize you were no longer in your room.

The bed was yours, your things were still on it, and you were in the clothes from the day before, but you were in the middle of Shockwave’s Laboratory.

You rubbed your eyes at the sight, making sure this wasn’t some ridiculously lucid dream. The scientist was across the room, staring daggers at a very nervous-looking Eradicon that was clutching a tool he’d presumably dropped.

Said Eradicon carefully placed the tool down and immediately turned to leave under Shockwave’s glare.

You blinked a couple times and rubbed the sleep from your face, trying to wake up a bit more despite the initial shock.

Once the other bot was gone, Shockwave turned to look at you and moved to approach as you fixed your hair.

“Soundwave ground bridged me from my room, didn’t he?” You ask just before a yawn, managing to get your hair somewhat decent after a few tries.

Shockwave tilted his helm a bit in a nod.

“Even waking from a recharge, your logic is intact.” He replied flatly, watching you lean over to rummage in your bag for your vape.

“I’m also assuming I’ve been summoned because of the list.” You took a long draw and blew it out your nose. You wished the Decepticons had a coffee maker.

“An appropriate deduction. The…’tournament’ with the Autobots yielded a higher amount of data than expected. Soundwave wasn’t expecting your performance to be as…” He paused for a moment, seemig to look for the correct phrasing, “Faultless, as it was.”

You raised a brow at the way Shockwave said it, but offered a small smile and replied, “Well, you did say I was a ‘cunning human’.” Not that the cunning helped dull your sense of betraying the Autobots.

“Indeed, your approach was highly logical. Lord Megatron seemed to approve of your subterfuge.” Wait.

You feel another jolt of shock, realizing what that meant. You looked up in surprise and quickly asked, “Wait, he saw that? Was he watching the whole thing?!” 

Shockwave’s optic flickered in amusement. “All of the Nemesis had watched one part of the feed, or another. As Starscream mentioned before, it is only logical to be an open connection for any of us to assess your progress.”

Your face lit up bright red and you tried to hide it with a hand on your face, though your ears turned red as well.

“Why are you distressed.” Shockwave asked incredulously, not understanding your reaction.

“I’m embarrassed! I thought you or Soundwave, hell, even Starscream would be looking at the feed, but not the whole damn ship!” You exclaim, scratching your head. You heard the scientist scoff and turn back toward his workstation, waving his servo at the trivial worry.

“Your concern is illogical. You would have far more to be ‘embarrassed’ about if you had not managed to complete your tasks during the allotted time. Furthermore,” Shockwave turned to glance back at you. “Your swift action has put you in better graces, thus, you should be elated.”

You look a little surprised at the statement, wondering exactly with whom your graces had been improved. You also weren’t sure if Shockwave really understood what embarrassment was.

Your hand rubbed across your face in an effort to get rid of the redness before you moved to stand up. Mid-vape, Shockwave adds, “Now that you are online, I will alert Soundwave that he may collect you for your debriefing.”

You choked on the smoke and coughed a few times before being able to calm yourself.

“I have to talk to Lord Megatron -alone-?!” You exclaim, rolling your eyes with a groan when Shockwave didn’t look up to answer.

Despite the scientist’s assurance your job had been well done, your nerves refused to listen to the logic. Why did you have to be such an overachiever...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short in-between. Apparently you've impressed the Decepticons with your work ethic. Hopefully that doesn't mean they're going to work you to death.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	17. Good Graces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sing for your supper.

It wasn’t long before you heard the pressurized door slide open with a hiss, the tall, lanky communications officer stepping through with a quiet gait.

You quickly put away your things as Soundwave approached the table, expecting him to pull out another glass cage to transport you in. Instead, the lithe bot extended his servo to the edge of the table, silently asking you to step forward.

Surprised at the offer, you carefully leave the edge of the table to stand in his palm. Soundwave lifted his servo once you were in place and turned to walk back toward the exit.

You glance at Shockwave as you pass by, but the scientist seemed absorbed in his work once again. 

Standing quietly in Soundwave’s servo, you couldn’t help but notice how smoothly he walked along the hall, keeping you balanced and hardly moving. You glanced up at the screen where his faceplates would be, curious if he actually had a face or not.

You were surprised when Soundwave glanced down, a question mark appearing on the display. You jumped with a small ‘oh!’ and put your hands up defensively.

“Sorry, just...curious about your screen.” You admitted with a sheepish smile, Soundwave’s screen going blank afterward. He didn’t seem to react to your admission as he continued to walk.

You remained quiet for the rest of the trip, still somewhat nervous about the debriefing, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as your first encounter with the overlord.

The large entrance to the throne room slid open, and a small, round pillar raised in the center of the floor as the two of you arrived. Megatron was once again seated in his throne, appraising your entrance from his perch.

Soundwave approached the platform, tilting his servo to slide you onto the pedestal. You looked up at the silent bot and gave a short bow and quick ‘thank you’, to which you swore Soundwave gave the tiniest nod in return.

You looked across the room at the Decepticon leader and performed a similar bow to Shockwave’s greeting from before, standing straight again with a customary address of, “Lord Megatron.” Being so nervous, you didn’t notice the dot in your HUD begin to flash.

The overlord seemed to accept your greeting after a moment, moving to stand from his seat and approach the platform, arms clasped behind his back. It was an authoritative pose, and you knew disrespect would be dealt with -painfully- quick.

“For a human,” He began, stopping directly in front of you and gazing down at your small form, “Your efforts have been surprisingly efficient.” 

You give another small bow, but don’t respond. It seemed to be the right choice as the overlord continued, “I was predicting you may have taken much longer, perhaps too long,” The pause gave you shivers, it’s implication was death judging by the look in his optics. “However, I seem to have been mistaken.” The lilt of his tone implied nonchalance at your lack of failure.

Megatron had turned afterward to approach a display to the side, Soundwave wordlessly pulling up the data sheet of what you’d found, and putting it on screen.

“Circumstance appears to have been in your favor during your first venture, turboferret. The additional data you provided beyond the list was...interesting.” The overlord watched the points scroll past in Cybertronian, though you understood none of what was actually being shown.

You give a slight nod at the response, eyes lowered in a sign of respect as you quietly reply, “I’m glad my efforts were acceptable.”

Megatron glances back at your reply, and you try not to fidget. There was a pause until the overlord agreed, “As you should be.” It wasn’t as threatening as his previous implication, but you nodded.

“Though we examined the feed and your tracker’s scans, is there anything else you wish to report?” He announced, still looking up at the screen.

You thought for a moment, and since you didn’t know exactly what data they’d wished to keep, you hesitantly respond, “The point of the game tournament was to see who would choose our next trip, some of the Autobots included.” 

That seemed to get Megatron’s attention. You continue, “I’ll be able to report the time and place when I get a message from them about the plans. We’ll have a break from class in the next few weeks, and that’s most likely when it will happen.”

The overlord actually turned his frame slightly to get a better look at you, apparently interested further in the information.

“Are you able to confirm the number of Autobots?” You shook your head.

“No, My Lord. Most likely it’ll be some combination of Bumblebee, Arcee, and Bulkhead, depending on who is able to go. Optimus and Ratchet generally stay near the base during a trip.” You weren’t sure if you liked the smirk that spread across Megatron’s faceplates, but the overlord looked like he approved of the suggestion.

“Very well, pet.” You cock your head at the nickname and jump slightly as the pillar slowly descended back to floor level.

“Report back to Shockwave until further notice.” Megatron orders, turning back to view the display once again. 

You almost forget to bow and reply, “Thank you, Lord Megatron.” before swiftly striding toward the door. Soundwave turns his helm to watch you go, swiftly typing on his console without needing to watch the screen.

Once the doors closed, the communications officer returned to his work and only glanced up when Megatron spoke.

“Such an efficient little pet we have, don’t you agree?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was more I wanted to add to this, but I found a good splitting off point and we're about to get into some drama. Hold on to your pants.


	18. Sticks and Stones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will not hurt you.

Once outside the throne room, you pulled your vape back out and started the long walk back to the Lab. At the very least, you knew where it was even if it would take you a while to get there. 

After turning a corner, your pace stalled for a moment when you saw Starscream coming up in the opposite direction. You did your best to act like you were going somewhere, but the seeker swooped down as he passed and grabbed you full body in his servo.

“Hey!” You exclaimed, a trail of smoke following the movement upward. Starscream sneered.

“What are you doing outside your ball, ferret? Some bot could just come along and make such a mess if you got stepped on by ‘accident’.” He snarked, grip just a little too tight for comfort.

You glare up at the seeker and irritatedly reply, “I’m heading back to the Lab. Put me down.”

Starscream tuts you at the reaction, wagging a sharp talon in front of your face.

“Oh no, ferret, you shouldn’t talk to a commanding officer like that.” He warned sweetly before swiftly plucking the vape from your grasp. You give a little shout when the sharp tip of his finger scratched your hand.

Without another word, the air commander crushed your vape between two fingers with a small explosion, letting the pieces fall to the ground below.

He brought you closer to state quietly, “All this attention you’re getting from being Megatron’s new pet is just going to bite you in the aft. You’ve set the bar too high for yourself, ferret. One screw up and you’ll be nothing more than a smear on the bottom of his pede.”

You glare fully at Starscream, but decide to keep your mouth shut lest he crush you for the sarcastic response you wanted to give.

Instead, your glare suddenly shifted to a grin. You just had a clever idea.

“While that may be true, you do remember anyone can access my tracker, right?” The bluff seemed to work because Starscream balked.

“I mean,” You lean forward a bit with a sly smile. “It records everything, so I’ll just have to be careful, won’t I?” The look you gave him seemed to get the point across, because the seeker scowled again and tossed you aside.

The floor was hard, and you landed awkwardly on your side with a shout of pain. You may have broken something, but there would definitely be a bruise.

“Tch. Don’t think you’ll -ever- be anything more than a stupid organic playing spy for Megatron. Once your usefulness is gone, you’ll be incinerated like the trash you are!” He screeched, turning to continue down the hall in a huff.

You sat up slowly from the floor, seeing the remains of your vape on the floor in front of you. Well, at least it wasn’t you that got crushed.

Standing with a bit of effort, you hold your side and start walking toward the lab once again. You got the feeling that wasn’t the last time Starscream would have a word with you, either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short interaction with Starscream leaves you limping but intact. This isn't the last time you'll have to deal with him.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	19. Tinkering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone needs a helping hand, sometimes.

You finally made it back to the lab, still holding your side with hot soreness radiating from the place of impact. You didn’t bother hiding the grouchy expression as you approached Shockwave. 

The scientist was still absorbed in his work, painstakingly fitting together small pieces and capacitors inside another part of his machine. You debated saying something before noticing a conspicuously placed set of containers next to the desk, so instead, you attempted to climb up them.

After the third box, you winced when your side pulasted with pain, but just gave a quiet grunt and climbed the rest of the way up. Once at the tabletop, you paused to catch your breath, rubbing your ribs. That was harder than you thought it’d be.

You looked up when Shockwave sighed and placed a small rivet aside, noticing that he seemed frustrated with all the tiny parts. You assumed he was having a difficult time putting it in the right place.

“Would you want me to help?” You ask, the question making the scientist glance over a little more quickly than usual. He must’ve been really focused not to notice you on the desk.

Shockwave’s optic readjusted a few times, assessing your suggestion’s odds of being useful before taking a piece and setting it before you.

“Do not touch the circuitry.” He finally replied, watching as you lean over to pick up the metal fin. It had delicate layers of metal crossing the internal section, with a band around the edge to close it off. Luckily, it was plenty wide for your hands, but you could see how Shockwave would have a hard time getting a good grip on it.

Before you could even ask, he gestured to a small gap between a capacitor box and some wiring.

“The chip faces upward when installed. Place it in -correctly- else, the entire section will be useless.” He warned, to which you give a nod and carry the chip over.

Kneeling down, you poke your head in to look at the slot, easily able to see between the wires. There was just enough room to fit the piece in. Very carefully, you lean over and avoid putting a hand on the board below, double checking the position of the chip before sliding the connector in. 

Your side was giving you hell for all the movement, but you grit your teeth and continued. It took you a few tries to push the chip all the way, but eventually a small ‘click’ sounded and you backed up, moving to stand again. 

Shockwave muttered a ‘hmm’ and went to pick up another piece, waving his servo for you to back away so he could continue. Guess that was all you were going to get.

Your hand instinctively went back to your side, rubbing in small circles to ease the soreness. You’d assumed the scientist didn’t really care, but a moment later he spoke again.

“You are injured.” Thanks for stating the obvious. Shockwave snapped another piece in, and you realized he expected an explanation.

“Ah,” You start, not sure how to phrase ‘Starscream almost crushed me and threw me like a bouncy ball’. You were pretty sure the tracker hadn’t been recording during the encounter, but making sure you weren’t squeezed to death had been more important at the time.

Shockwave connected another section and glanced at you. That wasn’t an answer.

“The debriefing went well. I just had a run-in with a hole in the floor on the way back.” You reply finally, knowing that Starscream was likely listening in to make sure you didn’t straight up tattle on his bitchy aft.

The disbelieving gaze from Shockwave was obvious enough even without faceplates.

“It was a big hole.” A big aft-hole. The scientist seemed to let it go once he turned his attention back to the device.

“It would be logical to remain intact for your future endeavors. The Eradicons will be alerted to check the pathways for irregularities, or, ‘big holes’.” He finally replied, examining a glass tube before placing it in it’s slot.

You blinked. It was beyond you how Shockwave managed to see right through your explanation and immediately come up with the solution. For a moment, you felt immensely outclassed, but thankful at the same time.

A large servo coming up to you brought your attention back to the moment, a minute bolt being presented.

“Install this beneath the right-most breaker box. Avoid scratching the board, and do not cross-thread the screw.” Shockwave ordered, dropping the piece into your open palm.

You gave a little smile and nodded, going over to the section he’d indicated. Maybe this wasn’t so bad, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, I loved writing this part so much. Seems like Shockwave has warmed up to his new little lab assistant. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	20. Bloodsucker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was all fun and games until the side-effects showed up.

Thankfully the Decepticons allowed you to go back home at a reasonable hour this time, giving you a chance to prepare for the next day.

You looked at the caddy-cornered position your bed had been replaced in, but a throb from your side quickly made up your mind to deal with it later.

Walking into the bathroom, you lifted up your shirt to assess the damage. The whole side around your ribcage was red and already turning purple. Even a tender touch was enough to make you wince. Feeling around carefully, you didn’t get any super sharp pain or have an issue breathing, so you probably got lucky.

Lowering your shirt again, you sigh at your reflection. The ever present dot still in your field of vision. You decide to take a shower and begin to undress, halfway done getting your shirt off before you heard your phone ping in your back pocket.

You looked down at the device and your HUD popped up when you opened a new message from Miko.

‘Hey! So Raph hardcore kicked my butt at the final, so he picked where our Spring Break trip is going to be!’ 

Another text popped up immediately after.

‘It’s this really cool camping spot a few towns over! We can even go shopping and see some shows since Raph wanted to head to a technology place near there anyway!’

You were honestly surprised at the choice, but considering Raph had been dying to see the Institute for Future Technologies, you could see why he’d pick something like that. At least it wasn’t set in the middle of downtown like the music fest Miko picked last time. How convenient.

You notice the HUD transcribe the information in a file and send it. Opening the keyboard, you respond,

‘That sounds great! Just let me know what time I need to be at the base, or if I should meet you guys there. What’s the place called again?’

A ping sounded in your ear.

‘Oh, it’s called Logic Pointe! If I don’t see you before we figure out a time, I’ll let you know!’

You read the name and gave a snort, oh the irony.

The HUD double pinged and sent the location information as well, an approving chime sounded after.

This was getting too easy.

You finish getting undressed and turn the shower on, testing the temperature before stepping in. While washing your hair, you scrub a little too hard and flinch, wondering if you’d hit your head and didn’t realize until now.

Despite the aches and pains, you found yourself rather confident with how things were turning out. The ferret was on a roll, or at least, so you thought…

 

You woke up the following day feeling like death itself, rising from your bed with a zombie-like groan. It was like you had sleep-walked across some busy train tracks the night before.

You sluggishly rose from your bed and wobbled to the bathroom, completely unfocused. You absently noted that your side didn’t hurt as badly today, but the passing thought ricocheted into full out shock when you looked in the mirror.

Your hair had turned completely silver. Shiny, bright, silky, silver, which was flying off in a few directions due to the static from your pillow. Even your face looked paler than you recalled, at least by a few shades.

“WHAT. THE. SCRAP.” You exclaimed loudly, immediately seeing the HUD pop open at your shout.

You stared past the data points that were scanning your appearance, running a hand through your hair in disbelief. A few strands stuck to it before you pulled away, shocking yourself and the sink nozzle with a small ‘yeowch!’. 

Looking down at your hand, a glint caught your eye. Your nails. Your finger nails looked like solid steel, shiny and flawless. You didn’t remember painting them at all, but you tried to scratch at the color.

It didn’t budge. You scratched harder and a terrible scraping noise met your ears, like two cars side-swiping each other. Your effort didn’t make a dent.

Your heart raced at this weird, unexpected turn of events. Curiously, you tapped a finger against the porcelain of the sink, hearing a clear ‘tink, tink’ and feeling the weaker material give under your nails edge.

In frustration, you tapped harder and cracked the top layer of glaze. Oops.

“What the hell -is- this?” You whisper concernedly to yourself, a new message in your HUD breaking the wonder of your new take on ‘hard-as-nails’.

‘Turboferret: prepare for immediate ground bridge to Decepticon base.’

You barely read the message in time before a portal appeared in your bathroom and a servo reached through to grab you, pulling you through swiftly. What the hell, you were still in your pajamas!

Once on the other side, you realized Soundwave had seen the new development and immediately took action. Your hand lowered enough to almost rest on his servo and another sudden shock startled you both.

Soundwave nearly dropped you with a ‘!’ on his screen, but quickly regained his grip. You raised both hands quickly and apologized, “Sorry! I have no idea why I keep doing that!” 

You were still reeling from the initial surprise, and Soundwave didn’t look like he knew what the hell it was either. The lanky bot turned quickly and opened another bridge directly to the medical bay, stepping through before he thrust you in the direction of Knockout.

In almost perfect sync with Soundwave’s movement, you shouted at the doctor, “What the scrap, man?!” 

Knockout had nearly fallen off his seat when the warp opened, but your appearance just made him stare with wide optics.

“I could ask you the same thing!” He retorted, fixing is chair before quickly walking over to look at you like some kind of freak show.

Soundwave moved you forward again for the doctor to take you instead. Once again, you shocked the shit out of yourself and Knockout when you landed in his servo. The medic jumped in surprise and switched to holding you by the back of your shirt.

“What do you expect me to do about this?!” He asked incredulously, gesturing to your statically-charged body.

Soundwave leaned in and pointed firmly at you, but looked directly and Knockout in a ‘fix this’ kind of way. The medic backed up a bit and quickly replied, “Yes, alright! I’ll look into it!”  
The communications officer backed away and opened another portal, staring at Knockout a moment longer before turning to disappear into the warp. Once it closed, you heard the medic give an uncannily human sigh before looking down at you. 

“What in the pit did you get into now?” He accused, flipping a servo like you’d done this to yourself.

“Me?! I woke up like this!” Knockout rolled his optics and turned to walk to the table and put you down.

“Sweetspark, you and me both, but the problem here is yours isn’t normal.” He replied, moving to get a few pieces of equipment. You almost laughed, but some hair flipped and stuck to your face, making you sputter instead.

“Do you even have a -theory- about this?” You question, fighting with the floating strands of hair.

“Not a one. I don’t deal in organics, but it -is- rather interesting.” Knockout replied, taking a scanner and flipping it on. He adjusted some settings and moved over to you, about to turn you around before he remembered the shock from before.

Instead, Knockout twirled his finger and said, “Turn around, pet.” You make a face and do as he asks, seeing a line of red scan over you a few times before the device beeped.

“Oh my.” The medic sounded genuinely surprised at the results. You flip your head around quickly at the reaction.

“What. What is it?” Knockout was scrolling through the data in avid fascination. You frown and shout, “Hey!” to get his attention again.

The medic looks up with a distracted ‘hm?’ and sees your hair bristle from the static.

“Oh, it’s just that your results are absolutely enthralling! I’ve never even heard of something like this happening to a bot, much less an organic!” He exclaimed with a grin, scrolling through again. 

You were about to argue when Knockout continued, “Darling, this is amazing. Who knew implanting a salvaged tracker would introduce nanites to an organic, not to mention actually be -assimilated- into one!” Your eyes widened.

“What did you just say?” You needed clarification on this. ‘Assimilation’ was never a word that was comforting when it came to alien technology.

Knockout completely ignored you and went on with his own thoughts out loud, “I mean, there was a 40% chance it wouldn’t even work, and I was 70% sure it would kill you within a week, but here you are! Even within that last little bit of possibility, you managed something even -I- didn’t expect. Brav-o, ferret, gold star.”

You jumped up at the point Knockout said it had a 7/10 chance of killing you and exclaimed, “What do you mean IT PROBABLY WOULD’VE KILLED ME?!” You didn’t see it, but little crackles of static went through your hair and jumped off your bare feet to the table top, skittering a few inches before disappearing.

Knockout fanned a servo at you and assured, “Calm down, pet. The nanites just made you a little tougher, that’s all. They replaced the...what’s it called, ‘kera-teen’ in your body with something better. I mean, I wasn’t expecting your polarity to shift either, but that’s something we can fix.”

“It’s keratin, and I want you to fix my slagging hair and nails! I look like a freakin’ vampire!” You demanded, going to touch your hair, but shocking yourself again instead.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I, for one, think it’s a major improvement.” Knockout made an overly fawning gesture before tapping a few things on the screen. “Now, we’ll just have to get you a little grounding bracelet and you’ll be fine.”

You would not be fine. You look like an emo vampire from the early 00’s goth scene. Finally, with an exasperated sigh, you sit back down on the table.

“Whatever, just please give me the bracelet so I can get out of here.” You pinched the bridge of your nose and made a grabby hand gesture without looking up. Despite just waking up, you wanted to go back to bed again.

“Hmm? What’s this, the little ferret wants to get out of med bay and play scientist with Shockwave again?” Knockout teased, brow raised with a smirk.

You look up sharply and snap, “The frag, no! I wanna go home!” Knockout’s grin didn’t go away and you felt heat rise to your cheeks.

“It’s not like he needs my help or anything anyway, all I did was put some small parts in for him!” You try to clarify, but the medic’s grin widens as he sassily turns to get the grounding bracelet.

“Sure, sweetspark, whatever you say.” You rub your face in exasperation before Knockout comes back and snaps a black band around your ankle.

Almost immediately you feel less...prickly than before, your hair finally calming down to normal. Knockout clapped his servos together in approval.

“See? All better.” He chirped, moving to put his scanner away afterward.

You stared down at the black band of metal and run a hand through your hair. This wasn’t any better at all.

You still had to figure out how to explain the changes to the Autobots and your friends.

Frag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez, this chapter was long. I just got into it and the Knockout sass kept me going. Kind of appropriate for making it to chapter 20 I guess.
> 
> How is this all going to be explained to the Autobots? And furthermore, what are the other cons going to think of your new look? Tune in next time!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	21. Electrifying Personality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're not dead yet.

Despite Knockout’s teasing, it turned out you had to go with the doctor and report to Megatron before you’d be allowed to leave.

Double frag.

Not only that, but Soundwave had kept a close optic on the examination and already updated your data file with a new image and footnotes. 

On the way to the throne room, you’d pulled it up and a section read; ‘Ferret is now capable of static electrical shocks. Do not remove grounding band.’

Great. First you were microchipped and now you had a collar.

Knockout practically sashayed into the throne room, placing you on the center pedestal with an air of overconfidence. You gave the medic a side-long eyebrow raise at the theatrics. Like he really did anything besides scan you...jeez.

When you looked forward again, it was like the overlord materialized from across the room, making you jump in surprise and quickly bow in a knee-jerk reaction.

Knockout spoke up first, “My Lord, I’m proud to announce that our little pet doesn’t seem to be in dire straits due to the tracking device. In fact, I believe it should be considered an upgrade.” 

His swagger was knocked down a peg by an irritated glance from Megatron, after which Knockout cleared his vocals and continued, “Not only have the nanites successfully assimilated,” There was that word again. “But improved upon the organic design! The polarity problem is likely just a hiccup while they rework the human’s vital systems.”

You whip your head around to look at the medic with a stink-eye glare. He hadn’t mentioned that part in the med bay!

Chills ran up your spine when you looked back at the overlord who was staring down at you, looking over the changes made to your appearance. He hummed to himself in contemplation.

“What would you describe the intensity of the polarity change as, Knockout?” Megatron asked, a large talon reaching down toward you. You froze and the tip caught your pajama bottoms, lifting the edge to reveal the grounding bracelet wrapped around your ankle.

Knockout struck a thoughtful pose and replied, “Likely similar to a human-grade electrical socket, My Lord. It stings.” The medic waved his servo a bit, remembering all too well when he took hold of you.

Your eyes widened in surprise. If that analogy was correct, you could almost definitely shock a human into unconsciousness, if not to death if circumstances aligned. What the scrap.

Megatron snorted at the idea and merely turned to head back to his throne.

“A paltry ‘upgrade’, but an upgrade nonetheless.” He acquiesced, waving a servo back in dismissal. 

The pillar lowered back into the floor, and you turned as another ground bridge appeared behind you. Looking once more at the overlord upon his throne, helm rested on a closed fist, you saw him smirk and wave you away to the portal.

“You have more tasks that lie ahead, pet. Do bring us something interesting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter, but the show goes on!
> 
> Next up; lying through your teeth about why you've gone full Dracula.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	22. Green Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Irritating someone with a blaster is not a good idea.

A day or so passed after your transformation into an honest-to-Primus cyborg, and you had avoided the others like the plague at school. Soundwave sent you annoying pings whenever you got close enough to see them, but your nerves were working against you.

The only story you could come up with was ridiculous at best. Finally, after coaxing from all your friends that they wanted to hang out again, you gave in.

If this didn’t work, your cover would be blown. 

You really, really hoped this worked.

As a mitigation tactic, you’d texted everyone the day before and said, ‘Hey! Don’t be surprised if I look different when you guys see me. I did something crazy with my hair!’

At the very least that’d lessen the insane amount of questions you’d get when you showed up with stark silver locks.

You stressed the entire time you were in the lecture hall, managing to scribble notes once in a while, but ended up doodling stupid pictures half the time.

By the time you got out, you had forgotten who said they’d pick you up to head to the base. You didn’t see anyone waiting for you at the usual spot, so you pulled out your phone to check.

There was a message from Optimus.

‘Unfortunately Bumblebee was scheduled to his scouting route this afternoon. I’ll be picking you up instead. I shall arrive shortly.”

Oh. Scrap.

Optimus almost never picked anyone up unless all the other bots were too busy. You would’ve even taken a ride from Ratchet, but a huge semi pulling into a college campus-

A short, loud blast of a horn alerted you to a red and blue semi pulling up along the curb. 

Your HUD immediately activated.

Double Scrap.

You waved at Optimus and forced yourself to look excited, giving a big grin when he rolled up. The passenger door swung open, allowing you to climb into the cab. You’d only gotten a ride from Optimus once or twice, but this was easily the most intimidating moment of your life.

Besides staring at Megatron and denouncing the Autobots, that is.

“Hey, Optimus!” You chirp, settling into the seat as the door snapped shut. “I just saw your message, so I was a little surprised.” The admittance was followed by a smile at the radio. You always thought it was easier to talk toward something than just thin air.

Your HUD was scanning the interior of the Autobot leader, picking up on things it apparently missed in the initial inspection.

“As was I. Your appearance is definitely more ‘crazy’ than the norm. Though, I don’t believe the change is in a bad way.” Optimus replied, wheel turning to get back on the road and merge into traffic.

You must have looked a little surprised because Optimus chuckled at your reaction.

“I’m sure the others and yourself are excited for your trip.” He began, starting a thankfully easier conversation for you to go along with. You idly ran a hand through your hair as the two of you spoke, innately aware that Optimus had complimented your new look.

If only he knew.

\---

The moment you’d laid eyes on the semi, your HUD had begun recording the interaction and playing the feed to the Nemesis. Thankfully, it was only accessed by a few bots, since the Eradicons weren’t exactly permitted to sit around watching your videos all day.

Shockwave was in his lab, as usual, and working on some slightly larger sections of his project alongside Knockout, since some heavy-lifting was involved. The feed had popped up on his nearby monitor, garnering a glance at first, and then a distracted gaze.

Knockout was putting plates on the outside of a structure and apparently noticed the scientist’s hindrance. A feline smile crossed his faceplates as a devilish idea took hold. What other chance would he get to mess with the stoic bot?

Sure, he could end up getting shot, but as the humans said, ‘worth it’.

“Missing the little assistant, are we?” He questioned innocently, garnering a sharp glare from Shockwave in response.

“That is illogical. They would be of no help during this process.” He replied matter-of-factly, returning to the current control panel he’d been programming.

The audio was lowered, but the din of Optimus’ vocals was heard before you laughed at what was apparently a joke.

Shockwave paused mid-wiring and his finials twitched. He finished the action a nanosecond later, but Knockout noticed.

Testing his luck, he spoke again, “Who knew the Autobot leader gave rides to their human pets? They seem to be having a fun chat.” 

“Knockout...” The tone was a very serious warning. The red mech shrugged and held up his plate just in case a shot went off.

At the risk of actually being fired on, Knockout couldn’t help himself and added quickly, “You know, it almost seems like he li-” The sentence didn’t even finish leaving his mouth before a blast ricochet off the plating and hit the ceiling of the lab, leaving a smoldering scorch mark.

“Out. Now.” Shockwave ground out the two words, smoke still rising from his cannon arm before it lowered to his side again.

Knockout sat the plate down carefully and booked it for the exit, keeping his mouth shut but faceplates split with a grin.

He called it.

Shockwave’s optic flashed as he assessed the loss of control, irritated with not only himself, but Knockout’s incessant prodding as well. The medic merely irritated him. He should just do it himself.

The feed continued in the background, volume lowered further until your voice was the only one audible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The drama. Oh my. Shockwave got a tiny bit jealous. A little. Very minute.
> 
> Up next: the scanner goes nuts again and your fingernails are indestructible.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	23. Stress Tested

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's called 'dumb luck' for a reason.

Optimus rolled into the base after a mercifully short drive. The two of you had talked about a few things with some terrible jokes here and there, but your HUD seemed to take special note of anything that sounded remotely like valuable information.

He allowed you to disembark before transforming again, and you couldn’t help but notice Bee and Jack were both playing another round of Face Smash 4. Raph was over in the corner with his books, and Miko was messing with her guitar alongside Bulkhead. Arcee wasn’t even at the base.

You suddenly remembered it was her day for scouting duty.

Your ferret senses spiked, but you kept it to yourself. You looked up at the Autobot leader and jokingly said, “Thanks for the transport, boss bot.” With a mocked little salute.

Optimus chuckled at your gesture and gave a nod in return.

“I was glad to be of service. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to make a call to Lieutenant Fowler about a few matters.” You nodded in response and waved a bit as Optimus headed back to his office.

Being turned away from the others, your expression shifted to a scrutinizing gaze at the doorway once Optimus left.

You were pretty sure he volunteered to pick you up instead of sending Bumblebee.

A call from across the room caught your attention, seeing Miko standing on an amp with a guitar strapped around her.

“Hey! Listen to this new song I came up with!” A loud riff sounded when she struck the chords, quickly turning into a heavy metal chorus of slides and quick picks.

Bee and Jack cringed, with the yellow bot nearly snapping the controller in half by accident. Raph pulled his hands up to cover his ears and pleaded, “Miko! I’m trying to study!!” 

She pulled off another few strums before the last note echoed out with a rock star-like pose, grinning and satisfied with her performance.

“What’dya think?” She asked and you threw your arms up and exclaimed, “A masterpiece! But I really have to study too. Can I hear another one later?” You were always the only one that managed to convince Miko into playing songs one-at-a-time rather than a full set that would likely blow everyone’s ear drums and audial receptors.

Miko grinned and hopped off the amp, slinging off her guitar. “Yah! I’ll start working on that other one that’s -really- gonna blow your socks off!”

You give a weak smile and nod, then glance around for a place to sit. The only spot left was a set of boxes next to the huge mainframe the Autobots used for their data.

Your HUD pinged and turned red when you set your eyes on it, assuming that meant they -really- wanted you to take that spot.

Sighing, you adjust your backpack and walk over to the makeshift table. Ratchet had begrudgingly installed a human-sized outlet on the side since for some reason the military base had all of two plug ins, and they were near the ceiling.

You placed your things down and pulled out your laptop, moving to plug in the power cable. You saw a jump of static between your fingers and the outlet. Taken by surprise, you glanced up to see if anyone else noticed.

Thankfully, they were all still doing their own things and you mentally sighed in relief. After plugging in the cable, you pulled out a USB to use as well, planning on charging your phone while you worked. 

You plugged the connector into the wall socket and moved to grab the end to plug into your phone. As soon as you touched the metal tip, your HUD began popping up an insane amount of screens.

A quick glance at the room proved once again you weren’t being watched, but honestly it was hard to tell from all the data flying around.

-What the hell?! What is this?- You think in panic, watching files in Cybertronian fly up and down as they’re copied and sent. 

A message pops up to overlay your HUD’s ridiculous amount of downloads reading, ‘Maintain connection. Current download progress: 13%.’

You balked for a moment and try to act normal, clicking on your laptop like you were distracted by something that popped up.

-The frag you mean ‘maintain connection’?! I’m literally just holding my cable like an idiot!- Your thought was oddly enough transposed into a reply and sent.

You didn’t shouldn’t have said that. You should not have said that.

And immediate reply was received that said, ‘Maintain. Connection. Ferret.’

You make a frustrated expression as the message downsized and more data continued to pop up.

In an effort to look like you were working, you pulled up a few word documents on your computer and tried to look focused on your homework, lowering your hand to your lap so the cable was just barely hidden behind your makeshift desk.

The progress bar in your vision ticked up a few more notches, sitting at 23%. You felt sparks jump between your fingertips, praying none of your friends would notice.

You at least try to make -some- headway in your work when you hear the sound of a bot walking toward the console.

SlagslagslagslagSLAG.

You glance up when you see a flash of white and red, looking surprised to see Ratchet tapping on the board above. Though your shock was mostly internal and borderline turning into a panic attack, you act like it’s nothing and look back to your laptop.

47%

You hear the medic grouse about something to himself and glance up slowly, terrified that the download was active on screen. You knew copying data would pop up -somewhere- on the display, but you prayed to every entity you could think of in that moment that it didn’t.

The medic huffed and went back to the data pad he’d brought with him, muttering, “I knew I scheduled a file back up for today but it’s taking so slagging long. I have work to do!”

A spark came from your fingers and your eyes widened before you quickly turned back to your computer. Ratchet seemed absorbed in his data and eventually headed back toward the med bay.

Your heart felt like you’d just chugged a gallon of Four Loco.

What were the fragging chances that the day Ratchet chose to do a database backup, this, of all things decided to happen.

62%

At this rate, you’d be hung up in the bridge of the Nemesis as a good luck charm. Lucky ferret, handle with care.

You tapped away at your keyboard a few more times, pausing to think about the ridiculousness of it all before looking back down.

84%

Primus, could it download slower? You scratch your head and jump slightly when you notice Jack had walked up next to the table.

“Doing science homework, huh? You could always ask Raph if you’re stuck on something.” He suggested, trying to be helpful, but you really just wanted him to go away.

93%

“Yah, I think I get most of it, but I know Raph is a whiz with almost any subject.” You reply with a nervous laugh. Jack’s eyes wander a bit and notice you’re holding your USB without your phone plugged in.

You freeze.

“Why are you holding your cable like that?” He asks curiously, pointing to your hand.

“Uhh.” You look down, pretending to be surprised at the question.

100%

The HUD cleared and you could actually see again. Thinking quickly, you play dumb and reply, “Oh, shit. I got distracted.” You casually pick up your phone and plug it in, the device beginning to charge with a small ‘ping’.

Jack just laughs at you and bumps you with his elbow playfully.

“Yah, I did the same thing with a piece of pizza once. I just had it in my mouth until the cheese fell off while I was playing Druzer 2. Good luck with your homework!” He replied, moving to walk back to the couch.

Despite the nanites in your body, you were pretty sure your heart wouldn’t take much more of this.

Another message popped up after the files had sent, making you glare at the HUD, though seemingly at your laptop.

‘Download complete. Debriefing will be required once data has been reviewed.’

You reached up and pinched the bridge of your nose with a sigh, and resigned to get back to work.

This scrap was going to be the death of you, for sure.

While typing, you noticed that your new death-claws were scratching the paint off the keys, leaving small indents in the plastic from the pressure. By the time you finished five or six questions, it looked like a screwdriver had been dancing on your laptop.

You paused and looked down at your fingers, swearing the nails looked longer than they had before. 

During your inspection, Miko had popped up beside you, making you jump again in surprise.

“Hey! What’cha doin-oooh.” She noticed your new nails immediately. 

Slag on a stick.

“I didn’t know you painted your nails! They look super good.” She exclaimed, grabbing your hand to check it out. You try to look embarrassed and laugh a little.

“Yah...I had to babysit my cousin the other day and he found some of that outdoor spray paint. I fell asleep on the couch and...well. It took forever to get off my fingers.” You admitted the lie sheepishly, hoping it worked.

That was all you had come up with that was even close to being plausible. Miko made a face like she remembered a similar experience.

“Yah, that stuff doesn’t come off for anything once it dries. I pranked Bulkhead once and his butt was pink for a week!” She giggled at the memory, finally releasing your hand.

“I’m almost done with my next song whenever you finish! Don’t leave me hangin’.” She stated cheerfully, practically skipping back to her seat.

Primus, this was ridiculous.

Whatever bot your tracker came from must have been the luckiest slagger alive...until they weren’t.

You let out a long, exhausted breath and turn back to your computer, resigning to essentially murdering the keyboard in order to finish.

In the back of your head, you really hoped Optimus wouldn’t offer to drive you back home again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew. So that was a fun adventure. Oblivious as the Autobots are to your subterfuge, something else skims on the surface.
> 
> If you grab your binoculars, you can see the heartache in the distance to the left.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	24. Complicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignorance is bliss.

After finally finishing your work and hanging out with everyone at the base for a few hours, you had quietly poked your head into the med bay to ask Ratchet to send you home.

He assured you Optimus would gladly give you another lift, but you declined, not wanting to distract the semi from his work, nor sit through a second awkward ride.

With his usual reluctance, Ratchet got up and opened a ground bridge to get you back to your house. 

You didn’t pay much attention as you approached the end of the glowing tunnel, attributing to the fact you didn’t see a second bridge open horizontally below the first.

Where you had expected solid ground to be, was an immediate drop into free-fall through a warp, garnering a surprised shout as you flew down the tube.

Close to the end, the center of gravity shifted, and you flew out of the other end mid-air, flawlessly landing in a pair of large servos already prepared to catch you.

Your equilibrium took a second to adjust to the new position, but you looked up to see Soundwave’s screen staring down at you. You shook your head quickly and gave a thumbs up.

“Good catch.” Soundwave tilted his helm a bit, in what you assumed was curiosity, but he was even harder to read than Shockwave.

The navigator carried you over to the platform you’d dubbed the ‘ferret stand’ and placed you down.

You adjusted your backpack a bit and noticed Soundwave return to his console, multiple screens of data scrolling across it. He was moving and organizing everything, with an occasional delete of duplicate inputs.

Heavy pede falls alerted you to the overlord’s approach, and you could’ve sworn he looked almost happy with that shark-toothed grin he was wearing.

“I dare say, pet, well done.” He purred, catching you by surprise with the obvious praise. “I wouldn’t have imagined once, in the past four million years, that all it would take was an organic laced with nanites to bring us this much information.”  
You weren’t quite sure how to respond, but the acclamation made you a little heady with pride. Shame and betrayal followed closely after, but that first part was nice.

Megatron began to circle your platform and continued, “Not only that, but it seems you may have Prime in the pad of your paw.” Ah. Reference to a ferret. Wait, WHAT.

You must’ve looked shocked because the overlord just smirked.

“Wait-..no, I mean, I’ve gotten a couple of rides from Optimus before, but we just talk.” The defense doesn’t seem very effective, as Megatron leans in close and replies, “Please, we saw your video feed. Not only did he compliment your upgrades, but attempted to entertain you.”

Your face turned red. No way. That wasn’t what Optimus was doing…right?

Megatron leaned away with a knowing sneer.

“I doubt he would make such an effort for one considered only as a ‘friend’.” He added, walking around to stand before you once again.

You clear your throat with a cough before speaking, trying to brush off the embarrassment.

“Even if your theory is correct,” You pause at a raised brow from the overlord and quickly add, “My Lord, I haven’t observed our interactions closely enough to verify it.” 

In short, you’re oblivious when it comes to flirting. You knew the other humans all had their ‘bot pal’ that they always hung around with, but you were honestly surprised that Megatron was suggesting that between you and Optimus. 

At least, you hoped it was just that. The way Megatron had phrased it inferred...something else.

The overlord hummed in thought, your pedestal beginning to lower a moment later. He remained in place, forcing you to crane your neck to look up.

“Continue your observations then, pet. Report to Shockwave before you go.” He finally ordered, looking down at you. 

You cocked your head, but a scowl from Megatron snapped you out of it and you bowed before leaving the room.

Once in the hallway, your shoulders went slack and you rolled your head back in vexation. Not only did you have to keep your head above water with the cons, but now you had a truck-sized anchor tied to your leg.

You reached up and scratched your scalp roughly, wincing when a sharp pain radiated from the spot. Checking your hand for blood in reaction, you realized your nails had grown to resemble talons, much like any other Decepticon.

“Fragging hell.” You mutter in disdain, flexing your fingers as you drudged on toward the lab.

About six feet later you jumped at a loud crash from behind, whipping around to see Starscream beating the slag out of a container just a ways down the hall.

You felt prickles of static charge up despite the grounding bracelet and quickly look for an escape route. If the seeker saw you and he was -already- that mad, you’d be dead for sure.

As fortune was inclined to smile on you once more, you spied a pair of Eradicons turn the corner and head your way.

Peeking around at Starscream’s furious form, you wait until the Eradicons get close enough and jump on top of one of their pedes.

The bot looked down at you in surprise, but you held up a finger to your mouth in a ‘hush’ before pointing back at the hall.

The two glanced around and saw Starscream throwing his tantrum and subtly nodded, continuing the way you had been walking.

Once a few corners were turned, you hopped off and gave them a thumbs up.

“Thanks, guys.” You say with a grin, even happier when the Eradicons returned the gesture before heading on their way.

They caught a lot of shit, but they were pretty good bots.

You turned to head down the next corridor, humming a tune to yourself. Ferret: 1, Starscream: 0.

The lab doors slid open upon your arrival, revealing a large device standing in the middle of the room with welding flashes going off periodically inside. 

Curiously, you approached and glanced through the opening. Shockwave was inside the darkened space, bio lights glowing purple with his singular yellow optic focused on the area he was finishing up.

You stared for a moment, not realizing bots could glow in the dark. Another shower of sparks went off before that yellow optic turned its attention to you.

You waved a bit with a smile, wondering as to how Shockwave would react to your new appearance. From what you could see, his helm cocked to the side a bit.

“Lord Megatron said I should report to you before I head back. How’s it coming along?” You ask, stepping back to give Shockwave room to move out of the space.

You swore his bio lights glowed a little brighter just before he left the darkness.

The scientist moved to put down his welding torch and actually leaned down to extend his servo for you to get on, raising you up to his level afterward.

“Progress has been made.” He finally replied, optic focusing in on you. 

You smiled and clapped your hands together in approval. “That’s good! I’m glad it’s coming together.” The silver claws glinted in the light, which apparently caught Shockwave’s attention.

The tip of his cannon carefully came up and nudged your arm. You got the message and splayed out your hand, laying it on the rim of the blaster to show off the addition but careful not to scratch it. You thought nothing of it, but that was the first time you really made physical contact with the stoic bot.

“Knockout said it’s the nanites from the tracker,” You began, watching Shockwave lower his weapon a moment later. “They replaced the keratin in my body and apparently I can electrocute people now.” You shrug.

“It is a highly illogical side-effect, however, befitting for a Decepticon.” His response took you a moment to process.

Did Shockwave just give you an actual compliment?

You looked a bit chagrined and replied, “Yah, uh, apparently I managed to tap into the Autobot database by accident too.” 

Shockwave’s finials twitched exactly twice. “ ‘By accident’.” He replied incredulously, bringing you closer.

You held your hands up in defense, but your tone implied just a bit of self satisfaction.

“I plugged in a USB to the power outlet and the tracker downloaded everything.” You snuck a little grin at the scientist, willing to showboat just a little.

“There is no logical explanation as to why you had enough time to-” He began, but you interrupted with, “I was doing homework and no one was looking.” His finials twitched again.

A moment of silent disbelief passed and you added, “100% scan. Ask Soundwave, he’s still going through the data.”

Looks like this was the second time you surprised him.

“Your insidious tactics put Starscream’s to shame. I speculate you would be a formidable opponent, were you Cybertronian.” You could hear the smirk in his tone.

A strange endorsement, but one nonetheless.

“If only.” You joke, offering feigned disappointment and a smile. The scientist gave a huff that almost sounded like he was amused.

“I mean, at this point at least I could give him a nasty shock and leave a few scratches on his face.” You suggest, shrugging.

Shockwave muttered something that was not English and you looked confused.

“What?”

“It is irrelevant.” He replied, however you got the distinct feeling he thought -that- was definitely funny. Mauled by an organic. Starscream would never live it down.

Shockwave moved his servo back to the floor to allow you to step down, walking back to pick up his welder afterward.

“So I guess I’ll be back in a while, unless there was something else you were curious about.” You suggest, watching the scientist contemplate your question for a few seconds before minutely shaking his helm.

“No. Your report was logically informative and...entertaining.” He replied, optic flashing before he turned back to the machine.

“Alright then,” You concede with a smile, turning back toward the door. About halfway you turn around and call, “If there’s any more small parts, let me know!”

You received a final glance from the scientist and he simply replied, “Indeed.”

A grin spread across your face as you left, once again on your way to the bridge to go home. 

You didn’t get to see Shockwave step back inside the structure to work, his biolights glowing brighter than they had before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how I feel about the set up, but on with the story.
> 
> Also, I enjoy writing the cute bits. At least Shockwave likes you now. Probably.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	25. Serenade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soldier - Fleurie (Love and War)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted this note at the beginning to say I tried my hardest to make this non-cringey, but if you don't like it, I apologize. I'll post a link to the song I very vaguely mention below.
> 
> The lyrics are very relevant to the story but you can really insert anything you want with a similar feel.
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/track/1gzXHWAGYKbaHubERNp0Ox?si=3s0o0k5_TnWQlPx7Uo3Q9g
> 
> Thank you for reading this far and hopefully enjoying my silly writings. :)

A week or so passed without much interaction with the Decepticons. Apparently satisfied with your exorbitant ability to collect information, they’d deferred you to observation instead of active collection.

Honestly, it was a nice break. Aside from obsessively analyzing any interaction you had with the Autobot leader, it was fine.

You still noticed your HUD light up once in a while and activate when near an Autobot, but it was more of a minor annoyance.

Having just gotten home from your afternoon class, you go over to the fridge for something to eat, hearing your phone go off with a new guitar riff tone. That was Miko.

You pull it up and check the message.

‘Hey! I hope you’re ready for tomorrow. We all got the stuff we said we’d bring, and surprise! Optimus actually decided to come!’ 

You almost dropped your phone, HUD popping up to transcribe the message. Despite the device not hitting the floor, your nails drew scratches in the metal backing from trying to save it.

Another riff sounded and you checked the next message.

‘Ratchet told him it’d be good to get out of the base for a few days since he’d been working so much. Plus, if any Decepticons come by, boss bot can kick their aft! He said he’d pick you up tomorrow too, so we’ll see you at Logic Pointe!’

You ran a hand over your face with a groan. -Why- did Optimus have to come? You already knew the cons were probably planning to attack on the trip, but you had to deal with this too?

With an eye roll, you text back that you’ll be ready in the morning. After tossing your phone on the counter, you saw a message pop up on the HUD.

‘Objective: continue observance of Autobots and mark specific instances related to Autobot Leader, Optimus Prime.’

You gave a frustrated groan and asked aloud, “Do I have to?”

A second message popped up and said, ‘Yes.’

Headed back to the fridge, you seriously contemplated cracking open your parents’ stash before shaking the thought off. It couldn’t be -that- bad. You got this.

After all, you’d downloaded an entire mainframe of information while sitting in the same room as the Autobots, so how difficult could it be to observe them for a few days? 

 

The night came and went, your things were packed and ready at the front door. You stood at the kitchen counter, sipping some coffee as you waited for your ride.

You glanced over when your phone pinged, a message from Optimus showing on the locked screen. ‘Traffic has proven difficult to get around. I’ll be there shortly. Apologies.’

That was rare. Optimus was normally quite punctual with his appointments, but you were sure he’d apologize at least once when he arrived. Even as the Autobot leader, he didn’t like to disappoint anyone.

You guessed part of the reason everyone liked and respected him so much, was because he actually cared about others’ feelings. Sure, he’s had to make some difficult decisions before, but it was always to make sure the overall outcome was positive.

The HUD in your vision suddenly activated and drew you out of your thoughts, alerting you to Optimus’ figure outside. You took a final swig of coffee and sat the cup down, grabbed your phone, and picked up your bags on the way out the door.

You waved at the semi, who flashed his lights in return. Both of you knew the neighbors wouldn’t appreciate an air horn at seven in the morning. You went around to the passenger side as the door swung open, tossing your duffel bag in first before climbing inside.

“Ready for a vacation?” You asked with a smile, setting your other bag down in the floorboard. Optimus pulled away from the curb before he replied, “Ratchet didn’t particularly give me a choice.”

You laughed a bit at the response, sitting back in the seat as the two of you headed toward the highway.

Trying to avoid any awkward silence, you pulled out your phone and asked, “Do you mind if I put on some music?” A click signaled the release of an aux cord in the dash.

“Go ahead. Just, no metal, please. Miko is a nice human, but her guitar makes my processor ache.” Optimus admitted, sounding like he didn’t want to say anything bad about her. To be fair, she was a serious metal head.

“Sure, no problem.” You agreed, taking the cord and carefully pulling it out as not to yank on anything. After plugging it into your phone, you scrolled through a music app and found a playlist that was full of your favorite songs. You knew Optimus would like at least a few, so you hit shuffle.

“Let me know if you don’t like something and I’ll skip it.” The assurance was met with a short, “Of course.” From Optimus as the two of you started down the highway.

The playlist went through a few different types of music, some trance, R&B, and a little bit of orchestral with lyrics. There were few pop songs on your list, but the next one it changed to was one of your top favorites.

Looking out at the scenery passing by, you start muttering the words to the song, just kind of zoned out from the monotonous view.

You just followed the song from memory, forgetting for a second that Optimus was the vehicle you were riding in. Your voice sang a little louder as the music went on, but you didn’t notice the volume lower slightly. 

The lyrics didn’t normally strike you as meaningful beyond what they were actually saying, but this time, you felt connected to them. Like you were singing about yourself.

\---

The feed from your HUD was being played on the Nemesis again. Soundwave was keeping it aside for monitoring purposes, however, Shockwave was actively listening to the audio.

With no one else in the room, he allowed himself to pause once he really heard the lyrics of the song you were singing along to. A melancholic, but hopeful tune, the words portrayed a want to continue, despite hardships and a possibly bleak future. It possessed a sense of duty, and your tone expressed acceptance of your own choices.

It was beautiful.

\---

By the time the crescendo hit, you were just singing aloud, putting rising emotion into the lyrics just as the song ended in a gentle fade.

A moment of silence passed as the last few seconds ticked until the next song in the playlist. It wasn’t until that moment, that you realized you’d just serenaded Optimus in his own cab.

Your face turned red and you tried to hide it with your hand.

“Sorry! I just...really like that one.” You admitted, looking out the window again.

Optimus obviously noticed your embarrassment and quickly replied, “You don’t need to apologize, that was...impassioned. I didn’t know you could sing.” 

You glanced back at the radio, face still bright red.

“I usually don’t sing in front of people.” You admit, scratching your head in a nervous tic. The HUD in your vision suddenly reminded you that you likely did that in front of some Decepticons as well, and it just made your blush worse.

The idea of singing in front of Shockwave bothered you more than doing it in front of the Autobots and Megatron combined.

 

The trip continued, and with a stop or two, Optimus and yourself soon arrived at the campsite. The others had gotten there before you, and all of them waved with various greetings as you stepped out of the semi’s cab.

“Hey guys.” You respond, stepping away so Optimus could transform again. 

“How was the drive?” Arcee questioned, to which you glanced over your shoulder and smiled at Optimus and asked, “Pretty fun, right?” 

The semi nodded in agreement, giving a smile of his own.

A message appeared in your vision.

‘Observation: 28% complete.’


	26. Seeing a Forest for the Trees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Observation is one of your strong points.

Three days remained, and the likelihood of a Decepticon attack was creeping higher with each passing hour. The others knew, of course, that it was probable, but the constant view of your HUD assured it was only a matter of time.

Despite the lurking anxiety, you tried to act normal. Well, as normal as you could, considering everything that had happened.

The spot Raph had picked was more comfortable than just ‘roughing it in the woods’. There was a small wash house for the campsite, and plenty of room between that location and the next to afford some privacy from other campers.

A ranger station was located a few miles away, just in case an emergency occurred, and a great viewing spot near a cliff a bit further through the forest. In short, it was an excellent spot for the Autobots to remain hidden and let everyone to enjoy the trip.

You were in the middle of setting up your single tent, popping a tension rod open when you felt a prod at your back. Jack was sitting about four feet away with his own tent stick and a grin. You smirked back and hopped up with the part in hand, striking a pose and declaring, “En garde!”

Jack got up and struck his own stance, repeating back your battle cry. The two of you swung the pieces around to try and poke each other in a mock fencing match. Miko noticed and grinned as she called, “Yah! Poke fight!”

Raph adjusted his glasses and smiled at the two of you horsing around. The Autobots seemed a little confused, but watching you both battle with long, wobbly sticks was pretty funny. You caught a glimpse of Optimus out of the corner of your eye, noticing he smiled again. Your HUD took note before a swing of Jack’s stick whizzed past your head.

Jack whipped the rod around once more and barely missed your shoulder, to which you flicked your wrist and went in for a lunge. The blunt plastic tip poked his chest and bowed upward from the tension. Jack gave an overly dramatic ‘ah!’ and comically flopped to the ground.

Everyone laughed as you walked over to help Jack up. “You win, no more!” He joked, taking your hand afterward. You laughed a bit and replied in a silly voice, “You were a worthy opponent, Jack Darcy.” 

Raph piped up, “Actually that was a valid point even in a real fencing match. It’s interesting bec-” He was interrupted by Miko hugging him around the shoulder and exclaiming, “Yah, that was cool! Let’s finish the tents and build the bonfire next!”

You all agreed and went back to finishing up, soon having the four shelters set up around the fire pit. Everyone agreed to fan out and check for firewood in the surrounding area, with each bot tagging along. 

Everyone else headed off in different directions with a challenge to find the most firewood, and you turned to look up at Optimus.

“Guess we’re headed up the hill.” You shrugged, offering a smile as he nodded in return.

“It seems so.” He agreed, allowing you to walk ahead. Luckily, the forest wasn’t too dense, letting Optimus to avoid the trees without much effort. You idly wondered if that would be the case during a firefight.

A light path led up the hillside, a few reflective ribbons tied to various trees to help highlight the trail. You came upon a fallen trunk, which was just a little too high for you to hop over while going up an incline.

You assessed the log for a moment, trying to figure out how to get around it, until you noticed Optimus’ servo carefully lift you up and over the tree. Turning back, you offered a little grin and a ‘thanks’, to which the Autobot leader nodded with a kind smile. He merely stepped over the log after you began heading uphill once again.

The two of you managed to pick up a sparse amount of wood, but you didn’t mind. You knew this just looked like a fun little adventure for yourself and Optimus, but your HUD was continuously scanning the area and keeping tabs on the Autobot leader’s behaviour. 

The incline of the hill began to level out as the two of you reached the top, a break in the treeline up ahead. You glanced back with a smirk, seeing Optimus trying to fit between two closely placed trees and called, “Race you to the top!” 

You took off and shot another look back at the semi just as he got past the foliage, almost at the edge already. You slowed to a jog and finally stopped once your cleared the forest, taking in the fantastic view. 

The hill dipped down and led to a cliff which overlooked the rest of the area. Evergreens stood far below, with a waterfall visible off to the other side of the cliff’s edge. The expansive blue sky was dotted with little white clouds of varying sizes, a gentle breeze blowing across the open grass and shaking the trees behind you.

You glanced back as you heard Optimus approach, giving a quick grin before holding your arms out toward the scenery.

“This is great, right? Look at how high up we are!” You exclaimed, looking back at the expanse of nature.

Optimus chuckled at your enthusiasm and surveyed the area as well.

“It is a sight to behold.” He agreed, though your wonder appeared more interesting than the trees.

You felt his stare and looked up again curiously, quickly glancing away and running a hand through your hair in embarrassment. The objective tracker jumped up to 43%.

“It’s kind of cool, you know?” You start again, looking more toward the sky than the forest. “Like you could just walk off the edge and fly away?” The dreamy suggestion only lasted a moment before you realized what you said.

“I mean- not that I would, under any circumstances, just...it’s kind of neat.” You backpedaled quickly, giving a sheepish grin.

Optimus nodded with an agreeing smile and replied, “I understand what you mean.” He looked across the landscape once again and continued, “The freedom of just taking flight at a moment’s notice. It’s a nice thought.”

You watched the Autobot leader for a minute, probably reading more into that than you should, but the objective raised to 57%.

A short silence passed as the two of you took in the view one last time before you turned to look at Optimus and state, “Well, I guess we can always come back if we want. The others probably found all the firewood we’d ever need, by now.”

Speaking seemed to draw the Autobot leader out of his own thoughts, looking down at you after a second or two. He gave a nod of agreement and replied, “You’re probably right. Let’s head back, then.”

You gave another smile and the two of you turned to head back down the hill toward the campsite. 

About halfway back, you saw the tree Optimus had helped you over again. Deciding it wasn’t a bad drop, you went to the edge and hopped off, only to trip on an unexpected rock and start sliding down the hill right toward a tree.

You raised your arms and prepared to hit it, but a loud crash sounded and you suddenly stopped sliding. Looking up in surprise, you saw Optimus hanging from his grip on a tree, servo having caught you before impact. The look of relief on his faceplates was obvious.

‘Objective completion: 72%’

“Thanks.” You said quietly, surprised that Optimus could react that fast. He let go of the tree and slid a bit to get his footing before turning his servo to scoop you up.

“Perhaps it’s best if I guide us back.” He suggested, after which you gave a small nod to your chagrin.

The day continued, filled with laughter, jokes, and stories around the fire pit as night came over the forest.

The Autobots decided to take turns at the night watch, with Arcee volunteering for first patrol. Everyone else stayed in the camp, talking for a couple more hours before getting ready to sleep.

After changing into your pajamas you poked your head out of the tent, seeing Optimus sitting against a nearby tree. Bumblebee and Bulkhead were across the way, forming a triangle around the campsite.

You gave a little wave in the dim light from your tent’s lamp and say quietly, “Goodnight.” Optimus raised his servo to return the gesture and replied in kind before you ducked back inside, switching the lamp off and settling into your sleeping bag.

The Autobot leader watched your tent until it seemed like you were asleep, then turned his gaze upward to view the stars between the branches of the trees with a very quiet sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew. That part took a while, but day one of the trip has passed. Will day two go by without incident?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	27. Sabotage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What you don't know, might get you killed.

Back on the Nemesis, Shockwave’s project was nearing completion. 

The scientist examined a piece of shielding metal in his servo before giving a frustrated huff and tossing it in a nearby bin. There were a few broken components inside, including the panel he’d blasted when Knockout pestered him with stupid questions.

Approximately three of the components were broken because he’d gotten distracted with your video feed and either crushed, or dropped them.

How illogical.

Once he’d destroyed a fourth part, Shockwave turned the screen off to save his own sanity. His curiosity was affecting his work. Why should he care how your mission was going? It was an illogical impulse, fueled by a strange fascination with your organic oddities.

That’s all it was. A study of strange human behavior. Observing a lab specimen to see how it reacted to various stimuli. 

You were a pet. 

A drone.

So why in Primus’ name did your interactions with Optimus irritate him -so much-? 

The scientist paused after he picked up a rivet meant to hold another panel in place, contemplating the small piece that would be just a bit too big for your hands to grasp. He huffed again and continued his work, brushing off the thought.

 

Starscream, on the other hand, had been an absolute terror since your spectacular success with the Autobot database. Despite heavy reprimanding by Megatron to cut it out, the seeker was still being a royal pain in everyone’s aft.

He’d fired a shot at four different Eradicons and shattered another display in the last 24 hours. The air commander was on such a hair-pin trigger, almost everyone was avoiding him. Despite his intense hatred of you, Starscream watched your most recent feed with a disgruntled glower.

It wasn’t until he saw the part where Optimus saved you from sliding into a tree, the he finally threw the data pad against the wall.

“That inconceivable little glitch! First they upstage me with their stupid recordings and now they’ve got Optimus practically on a leash!” He shouted in frustration and stomped his pede, wings twitching in fury.

“Those fragging Autobots can’t even recognize those ridiculous side effects from the nanites!” He exclaimed, pinching his helm finial with an angry growl.

-Absolute morons. They probably wouldn’t even realize it if Megatron explained it to their faceplates.- 

Starscream’s optics widened at the thought, aggression shifting into realization.

“That’s it.” He muttered, amazed at his own genius. Starscream felt a grin spread across his faceplates and he nearly laughed at the absurdity of not coming up with this before.

“All I have to do is slip that there’s a spy and that little meatbag will be out of my wires by the end of the week!” He laughed and practically skipped down the hallway. “I might even get to throw them in the furnace myself!”

The cracked data pad was left on the floor, screen frozen. A glitching image of the Autobots welcoming you back to the fire flickered dimly before it went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short in-between piece that gives a glance at the Decepticons while you're off on holiday. 
> 
> On to day two of the trip!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	28. A Matter of Taste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has a unique palate.

Two days remained. 

The night was uneventful, allowing everyone a peaceful sleep until daylight peeked over the horizon. 

You were awoken by a painful ping in your ears, which caused you sit up quickly with a small shout. The HUD flashed the time and your objective percentage popped up again as a reminder.

Once the shock faded, you rubbed your face and yawned, muttering to yourself, “Yah, yah, I’m working on it…” 

You heard someone ask what the sound was, and moved to unzip your tent a bit to poke your head out.

“Sorry, I think an ant decided to bite me awake.” An annoyed ping sounded in your head, but you ignored it this time.

“Oh! That sucks.” Miko replied, then pointed at the grate set up over the fire. “We’re working on breakfast whenever you’re dressed!” She added happily, to which you just nodded and disappeared back into the tent.

A few minutes later, you were ready and stepped out, stretching your back and getting a good pop before relaxing again.

You glanced around and noticed everyone was there except Optimus.

“Hey, where’s boss bot?” You asked, walking up to grab a piece of toast that was already done.

Jack glanced up and thought for a second before he replied, “I think he’s still at the cliff. Bulkhead said he saw Optimus head that way after his watch.”

You raised a brow and glanced in the direction of the hill, intensely curious. The objective didn’t budge, but another chime urged you to investigate.

“Huh. Guess I’ll go find him then. I’ll be back.” You stated, adjusting your jacket before walking toward the trail.

Miko called out after you, “Don’t take too long!” You waved a hand back in acknowledgement and started up the incline.

On the way up, you took a bite of toast, expecting a delicious crunch, but a taste similar to cardboard met your tongue instead. You paused mid-chew, making a face as you looked down at the normal-looking bread in your hand.

After a couple more chews, it didn’t change. In fact, the flavor got worse. You leaned over and spat it out of your mouth, unable to swallow due to the repulsive taste. 

Taking a few more steps, you examined the toast you’d grabbed, expecting to have a piece of plastic or something stuck to it, but the bread was perfectly acceptable-looking on all sides. You tried another bite, but immediately spit it back out afterward.

You glared at the food and tossed it away into the woods, giving up on breakfast for the time being. You weren’t even that hungry, anyway.

Hands in your pockets, you made it to the top of the hill to see Optimus sitting a little further off, watching the clouds roll by. You jogged up, knowing he heard your approach by the small tilt of his helm. 

“Morning.” You greet, walking up to plop down on the grass next to him. The semi seemed amused at your animated arrival and replied, “Good morning. I trust you slept well?” 

You nodded at the question with an affirming hum. “Ready for a new day and all that. How about you?” 

Optimus gave a human-like sigh and shrugged. “As well as could be expected.” Your HUD pinged, but the objective percentage didn’t increase.

You assumed that meant it was relevant to something else, but the lack of progress made you a bit annoyed. Maybe you just had to help it along.

Formulating a quick plan, you moved to get up. You were just about to say something before you tripped over yourself and accidentally fell against Optimus’ leg. 

That wasn’t the plan.

A large servo came up, ready to catch you just in case, but you quickly regained balance and looked embarrassed.

“Sorry, I’m a klutz in the morning.” You apologized, realizing afterward that Optimus hadn’t moved. It took another second to remember your hands were still on his armor, of which you quickly let go.

The breeze whistled past and you almost thought a bug buzzed by your ear, until you realized it was more like the quiet hum of fans.

When you looked up, Optimus seemed to snap out of it and let you back away before he stood. He looked flustered.

A message popped up.

‘Objective completion: 100%’

You glanced off, not sure what to say. Optimus did the same, but managed to regain his composure first. “We should head back. I’m sure the others are waiting.”

You agree and let Optimus go ahead, following behind. 

Knockout was going to get a -lot- of questions when you got back to the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my. Mission accomplished, and it's just the morning of day two. Will the vacation make it to the end?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	29. M.I.A

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mission accomplished, once again.

The awkwardness of your last encounter had barely died down by the time Optimus and yourself arrived back at the campsite. You jogged up behind and attempted to break the tension by declaring, “Found him!” 

You laughed a bit, trying not to show the embarrassment. A quick glance at the semi revealed that he cracked a smile at the comment. You shrugged a bit in silent assurance that it was no big deal.

Jack had just pulled the last sausage off the grill and put it on a plate.

“Alright, breakfast is done!” He announced, handing the plates to Miko and Raph before holding one up in your direction. You made a face and waved it off. 

If toast tasted like chemical cardboard, you didn’t want to guess what the sausage and eggs would be.

“Nah, I’m good for now. I shouldn’t have hiked up there on an empty stomach. I’ll get some lunch later, though.” You assured, apparently surprising everyone at the response.

It must’ve sounded halfway plausible because Jack just shrugged and put the plate down.

“Sure, I get that. We’ll save it for later, then.” He replied, going to take a bite of his own food. Even the smell was unappetizing to you now, more like a sickly air freshener than something edible.

You wondered if that’s what the bots thought of human food, smelly and disgusting. That furthered your thoughts to whether or not they’d ever tried to eat food in the first place.

The idea didn’t last long, as you saw a new message pop up in red on your HUD.

‘Ferret: Eradicon force incoming. Remain undercover until retrieval is complete.’

You really tried not to make any sort of obvious move as a ground bridge appeared across the creek from the camp, a multitude of Eradicons filtering through and opening fire.

All you saw was a flash of red and blue in front of you before blasters were going off from all the Autobots. The Eradicons advanced, and more filed out to circle around, a few got hit, explosions flying from the bodies as they crumpled.

To your surprise, Knockout stepped through the portal and casually waved his baton to bat away a blast.

“Having a party and we’re not invited? What a shame!” He called, flipping the electrified tip around to shock Bumblebee when the scout tried to sneak up from behind. The warp closed a moment later.

He smirked and added, “Guess we’ll just have to trash the place and get out.”

There was absolute chaos. Eradicons were coming up and picking the bots off to fight one by one, drawing them away. Jack, Miko, and Raph had run off to safety in the trees, but you’d tried to look like you were hiding behind a large rock next to the campfire. 

A quick glance from Optimus apparently verified that you were hidden and he moved forward, grabbing one Eradicon by the arm and tossing him into a nearby evergreen with a crunch. 

Ooh, that had to hurt.

Knockout was making a show of keeping Optimus occupied until he switched places with an Eradicon suddenly, leaving the Prime surprised.

The medic had transformed and drifted around behind, rolling into bot mode as he grabbed you carefully and held you up in his servo.

“I’m just going to borrow your pet for a while, big rig.” Knockout taunted with a smirk, another ground bridge appearing directly behind him.

You heard Optimus begin to shout ‘no!’ as the cherry red mech jumped backwards into the gate, a handful of remaining Eradicons following him through. The gate closed on that end before Optimus could make it. 

The particles scattered in the air before his servo, the other Autobots realizing what happened a moment later. Your friends looked horrified at where you’d disappeared into the bridge, a heavy sense of dread washing over everyone in that instant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuun. Just when Optimus thought things were going well, Knockout has to throw a wrench in the works.
> 
> Next up; why can't you just eat breakfast?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	30. Metamorphosis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The polarity of the situation takes a turn.

Inside the tunnel, you were incredibly relieved that Knockout was taking you back to the ship. It was great timing, especially since you wanted to ask him so many things.

“Y’know, you have a thing for theatrics.” You stated, looking up at the medic. In response, he gave an over-the-top bow while walking.

“Why, thank you, pet. I do try my best.” You snorted at the obnoxious display, but smiled nonetheless.

The gate closed once all the bots filed through, having led everyone to the med bay since Knockout would have to patch up the Eradicons that didn’t get blasted too badly.

He moved to set you down on a table and grabbed a scanner to assess the bots that made it back.

You gave him a few minutes to go over the five or six Eradicons that actually survived before speaking.

“Hey Knockout?” Your question was met with a curious hum. You tilted your head and asked the most recent question first, “What does it mean when a bot’s fans come on?”

You weren’t sure if the medic had a stroke or his processor stalled. Maybe both.

“Wh-where-when...what-why are you asking me that?!” His optics wide in shock, and armor flared in surprise.

“Because I’m pretty sure that happened when I tripped and landed on Optimus’ leg this morning.” You replied casually, making the red bot practically swoon with glee.

“Oh, sweetspark!” He declared, sounding like he just got -the- juiciest piece of drama he’d ever heard. The medic walked up with the widest grin you’d seen yet and said, “Because he’s into you!” 

You tilted your head. “Well, I guess he likes me, yah, but-” Knockout interrupted you and clarified, “No, pet, if -that- happened, he’s -much- more interested than that.” A brow raise from the doctor finally made you realize what he meant.

Oh.

Oh scrap.

Megatron called it.

You felt like you could die of embarrassment, but the nanites probably wouldn’t let you.

Knockout immediately began laughing his aft off at your reaction, since your face had almost turned the same color as his paint.

“Oh, oh pet.” He finally managed to say, wiping a bit of lubricant from his optic since he laughed so hard, “That was the funniest thing I’ve heard in a -long- time.” He admitted, essentially back to normal after his fit.

Your face was still crimson as you stared a hole in the table before you.

“Well, besides...that,” You didn’t look up as you continued, “Why did I eat a piece of toast this morning and it tasted like drywall?”

Knockout blinked his optics and looked surprised, but not nearly as much as before.

“Oh? It doesn’t always taste like that?” He genuinely asked, looking curious.

You made a face and responded flatly, “No. It does not usually taste like that. My assumption is the nanites, or I’m dying. Please figure it out.” 

Knockout just shrugged and grabbed his scanner again, flipping a switch before the device covered you in red beams and beeped.

The medic put a talon to his lip plates with a short ‘hm’ of interest, appearing to think. You rolled your eyes and asked, “What now?”

“Well, it’s the nanites, but I certainly wasn’t expecting them to work quite so quickly.” He scrolled through some more data and you shot him an incredulous look.

“What, exactly, are they working ‘so quickly’ towards?” You questioned, brow raised. Knockout held out his servo matter-of-factly and replied, “Completely converting your organic body to a cyber-metal one. Specifically, they seem to be going for proto-mass.”

You were lost.

“And...that is?” The medic gave a look that translated as ‘are you kidding me’ before he resigned to the fact you had no idea what that was.

“In short, they’re converting you to the stuff our insides are made of. Basically a core of a real Cybertronian. You’ll be tougher than a human, but still squishy without any armor.” He clarified, shutting off the scanner with a click.

You weren’t sure how to process that information. One one hand, great, you’re not dying a slow and painful death. On the other, you’re being converted into a miniature version of a Decepticon at a ridiculously fast pace. 

There was no way you’d be able to hide it soon.

The dawning realization just made you zone out, snapping back when Knockout suddenly handed you a tiny cube of something very pink and toxic-looking.

“Try this, sweetspark. You shouldn’t need much.” He offered, letting go of the small box once you took hold. Your brain worked over the logic and asked, “Energon?”

“Energon.” The medic replied, watching you take a sniff. It didn’t smell like gasoline or chemicals. In fact, it kind of smelled like that breakfast you refused earlier.

You shot Knockout a weary glance, but he just motioned for you to try it. With a resigned sigh, you tilted the cube up and took a sip.

It tasted -exactly- like the breakfast you were thinking of. Your eyes widened and you looked up at Knockout in shock.

“How-?” He just shrugged. “My guess is, it tastes like whatever your brain wants it to. It’s not the best energon, but it’s better than the Autobots’ stash.”

You stared at the pink liquid and took another sip a moment later. That one tasted like blueberry muffins.

Knockout just gave a self-satisfied smile and walked over to his tools, putting the scanner down and picking up something that looked like a giant lockpick.

“What’s that for?” You questioned, setting the cube down after a couple more sips. Your HUD had helpfully informed you that you didn’t need any more.

The medic twirled the tool skillfully and replied, “We’re going to see if you need that grounding bracelet anymore. The scan said your polarity finally stabilized.” He replied, smirking.

You propped up your leg dramatically and pulled up your pants leg.

“Go for it. This thing itches anyway.” Knockout snorted at your reaction and fiddled with the band before it popped open and fell onto the table. You’d expected a red mark or something, but your leg seemed perfectly fine.

You reached down and rubbed the spot where the band had been before realizing to check your hair as well. It wasn’t standing on end, or giving you a shock, so you assumed it was fine.

Knockout held out his servo and confidently declared, “Go on, give it a try.” You touched the metal hesitantly, but nothing happened. 

The medic beamed with confidence and continued, “See? All go-NE!” He jumped back with a surprised yelp when a bright shock zapped his servo.

You smirked.

That was on purpose.

“Why you sneaky little-” He almost cursed, but you just grinned and held up a hand, ribbons of electricity crackling between your spread fingers like a Tesla coil.

“The ferret’s got a bite now, huh?” You asked, watching Knockout’s expression change from annoyance to a smirk.

“Spoken like a true Decepticon, pet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's always fun to write scenes with Knockout. Now that you know what's happening, it might be harder to get your job done. 
> 
> That is, as long as nothing else happens.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	31. A Chip on the Shoulder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plan has been put in motion.

After Knockout had taken you, the Autobots realized they didn’t know -where- the medic had transported you to.

Their best guess was the Nemesis. The ship was always in constant motion and it was difficult to connect a bridge to, much less locate in the first place. Optimus was visibly upset with the situation, and the other Autobots tried to assure him they’d get you back. The best course of action seemed to be heading back to the base and trying to track the Decepticon ship.

Further back in the forest, Starscream was hiding behind a large tree and observing the group’s discussion. His wings twitched in glee at the thought of outing your cover.

After all, your stupid tracker couldn’t record him since you were gone, and he’d snatched a copy of Knockout’s original scan to bring as proof.

It was perfect!

Now he just had to make sure the Autobots didn’t fill him with holes before he could explain.

Just as they looked ready to comm Ratchet for a ground bridge, Starscream slipped out from behind the trees with a smirk, passing through a beam of sunlight that cut through the shadows.

“How dramatic that was.” He said in mock surprise, managing to keep his cool as the Autobots raised their blasters.

The air commander flicked his wings and added, “Don’t you want to know why Knockout took your little pet?”

A shot fired and missed Starscream’s helm, leaving a scorch mark on a tree behind him. Ok. No more snarky games.

He dropped the act and quickly said, “Ok, ok, fine, that human is one of ours! A spy! That’s why Knockout ‘kidnapped’ them!” The statement was met with the sound of a charging blaster.

“I’m not lying! Swear to the pit, look!” He added in a panic, taking a data chip and tossing at Optimus. The semi caught it, but never lowered his weapon.

Arcee piped up with an angry scowl, “Why should we listen to -anything- you have to say, you coward?!”

Starscream raised his servos and grumpily replied, “Because I want that little turboferret out of my wires! They aren’t even -human- anymore! Look at the data and you’ll see what I-!” He recoiled from another shot fired, finally deciding that was enough of an explanation before he turned and transformed to retreat.

“Don’t blame me if you don’t like it!” He called from the distance, already flying off toward the horizon.

Once the seeker was gone, Optimus and the others put their weapons away. He glanced down at the data chip in his servo, which was emblazoned with the Decepticon insignia. His optics narrowed in the shadow of his helm before he raised a hand to radio Ratchet.

Starscream was known for playing dirty tricks, so why would this be any different?

It couldn’t be true... right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter. Starscream outs you to the Autobots and they obviously don't believe the lying slagger.
> 
> At least, right now.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	32. Heresy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like a knife to the heart.

It didn’t take too long for the Autobots to get Jack, Miko, and Raph packed up and sent home once they returned to the base. They’d heard what Starscream said, but agreed that it was best to let Optimus and the others handle the issue.

They volunteered to keep an eye on their phones or try and at least geo track yours to see if it worked. After they were gone, Ratchet immediately demanded to know what the frag happened.

“You mean to tell me a ground bridge just opened up exactly where the camp was? How in Primus’ name did they even get your location?!” He exclaimed, swinging a data pad around wildly.

This was ridiculous. There was no possible way the Decepticons had a patrol anywhere near that area on a regular basis.

The other Autobots looked disturbed at the question, and Optimus held up the data chip toward Ratchet.

“Starscream approached us afterward and gave us this. He said,” The semi paused, knowing how ridiculous the accusation sounded, “That there was a spy.”

Ratchet rolled his optics and snatched the chip.

“That’s absolute slag. How would that even happen? What,” He switched to an overly sarcastic tone, “One of the humans just up and decided to switch sides and risk getting smeared across the Nemesis _for fun_?”

The blunt description got a few looks of disappointment and disgust from the others, but the medic turned with a huff and roughly plugged the chip into the console behind him.

“Ridiculous.” He groused to himself, muttering about how idiotic it all was until the scan data appeared on the screen.

Ratchet scowled and glossed over the medical lingo for a click before his whole composure changed to incredulous surprise.

“This...this _can’t_ be right.” He’d never seen anything like it. The results had to be falsified, or surely he hadn’t read that correctly.

“Ratchet, what is it?” Optimus asked with a bit more urgency than he intended, but the medic shook his helm in dismay.

“Why, why, why didn’t I notice the side effects!? Those little slaggers replaced the most obvious protein first...” Ratchet berated himself, servo over his faceplate as he read the report again.

Optimus and the others watched in dread at Ratchet’s reaction. They all knew what the verdict was, but the truth was too hard to swallow. Hesitantly, the red and white bot tapped a few keys and opened an attached timeline projection.

The animation began with a t-posed image of you, popping up subtext about the initial introduction of the nanites due to the tracking device. It had all of the statistics, including the 40% failure rate, and 70% chance of death.

It was only a computational guess as to how quickly the changes were happening, but the physical changes were obviously noted. What really shocked Ratchet was the text that appeared with the grounding bracelet added to your image’s leg. ‘Polarity shift detected during scan. Contact electrical charge estimated at ~110V.’

The Autobots were watching the display with horrified fascination. Ratchet’s frown deepened as the projection continued beyond the changes they had already seen.

‘Current timeline projection: approximately 0.5 Deca-cycles remain until full conversion. Relaying calculated levels at estimated speed.’

The image ticked on with an estimated frame of a day per change. In human terms, you would be fully reconstructed in less than a week and a half from the current playback of the data.

A chime sounded when the full timetable was completed, leaving an image of you on screen with a slew of data explaining the end result.

‘Current result projection: full proto-mass conversion of organic tissue.  
Possibility of failure for spark formation: 21%.  
Estimated voltage output, ~330V.  
Enhanced physical capabilities increased by 700%.  
Enhanced mental capabilities, unknown.  
Additional side-effects, unknown.’

The image stared blankly from the screen, eyes crimson and glowing, with silver hair and talons. Fine designs spread across the expanse of what was once skin, down your arms, legs, then up your jawline and your brow. A bastardized human form that was reformed into the likeness of a Cybertronian.

Bulkhead had to turn and looked like he was about to be sick. Bumblebee hid his faceplates when the animation got too far to be comfortable for him, and Arcee tried to remain stoic, but her servo was shaking as she covered her mouth.

Optimus was locked in place as soon as your image had appeared. There had to be an explanation. Something to do with the tracker.

Why _else_ would you willingly follow their orders?

Ratchet didn’t say a word. His normal facade of grumpy medic had shifted into absolute solemnity at the results. He didn’t dare admit that this was a medical marvel, though complete heresy that it was even attempted in the first place.

It was definitely something the Decepticons would try, no matter the estimated percentage of death for the subject.

A twisted experiment with organic life that could only be observed and theorized. That was why Starscream called you a ‘turboferret’.

You were a lab animal.

Ratchet finally gathered his thoughts, looking back at the others with mixed emotions. There were very few reasons he could come up with for this to be advantageous to your personal character.

He looked down, finally deciding to speak.

“With the notes, and the predicted course of the reconstruction, I could believe that…” The medic paused when all optics were on him, giving a growl of begrudged concession.

“The nanites may have altered their mental state enough for Starscream’s claim to be true.” He admitted, servo moving up to his helm in thought.

Silence followed, so Ratchet continued, “It’s honestly the best I’ve got. Something like this hasn’t even been speculated for as long as I’ve been a medic. It’s-”

Arcee finally had to look away and she muttered, “Disgusting…”

Ratchet tipped his helm and finally looked at the Autobot leader, who was still staring at the screen.

“Optimus.” His acknowledgement finally got the semi to look away, though Optimus still seemed in a daze.

The medic gave his old friend a very serious look and declared, “I can’t know for sure, unless I can scan them and assess their mental state. If that kidnapping was staged, they’re either going to be sent back soon, or the Decepticons are trying to taunt you into an attack on the Nemesis.”

Optimus’ helm tipped in silent understanding, processor attempting to work through a plan but the disbelief would not leave.

How had none of them noticed?

Your composure was flawless, acting like your usual self despite the obvious physical effects. You had valid reasons. Logical. Reasons.

Ratchet gave an exhausted sigh and pinched the bridge of his helm and suggested, “I know you’re going to come up with something, but I strongly suggest we wait. We can’t even track the Decepticon ship at this point, and wasting our energy trying to would just make this even easier for them.”

Optimus nodded again, then slowly approached and reached past the medic to remove the chip form the console. The windows closed and the backdrop of the display returned, a slowly spinning grid of the planet’s coordinate lines.

Finally, the Autobot leader spoke again.

“I believe that would be the best course of action, old friend.” The admittance was intensely even, considering what Optimus was dealing with at the moment.

Ratchet nodded in response, and they all watched as Optimus took the chip and silently headed back to his office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The feels. The betrayal. They still want to think good of you. 
> 
> It's only going to make it worse for them, in the end.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	33. Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's easy to see what's going on.

Once your objective of confirming the Autobot leader’s bias had been completed, you were told to remain on the Nemesis after the staged abduction. 

The plan was to wait a couple days and see if the Autobots were going to try and locate the ship for a retrieval mission.

If not, you were to return and inform them of your escape via the vents and a stolen escape pod, which would be given to you for credibility. The story was about as plausible as one you would’ve come up with yourself, so it worked out.

The only downside was that the nanites appeared to be working overtime to finish your alterations. 

After the first day, you’d woken up to a nasty surprise when a pair of red and black optics revealed themselves in your reflection. The Decepticons had set you up with a small berth in what was essentially a closet, but your shout of surprise was loud enough to alert a nearby Eradicon.

The giant door opened, their intent being to check on the sound, but you hadn’t realized the room was still dark since you could see just fine.

The result was a small pair of red eyes glowing up at the Eradicon from the closet, which was met with a screech and practically scared the lubricant out of the poor bot.

You blinked in surprise as he tripped over himself trying to get away, leaving the door ajar. Scratching your head, you got up and stepped outside, looking around for the Eradicon you’d terrified.

Pedefalls approached your position and you looked up in confusion, seeing the Eradicon dragging another (presumably braver) bot behind him. You just raised your brows at the two of them curiously, watching as the second Eradicon gave the first a look and muttered, “You idiot!” Before slapping the back of his helm.

You watched as the two of them marched back to their duties before shrugging and turning to head toward the lab.

Shockwave would probably be interested in the new development. Even if he wasn’t, he still might need a little lab assistance from the ferret.

 

You got a few more odd looks from some other Eradicons on the way to the lab, but your mind was solely focused on how exciting it was to show Shockwave your new tricks.

It had been a while since you saw the scientist, and you wondered if he was done with that big project he was working on.

The lab doors slid open with a hiss and you expected to see Shockwave toiling away. Instead, it took you a moment to realize he was hunched over his desk. You couldn’t see very well from the floor, so you headed over to the stack of boxes to make your way up.

The edge of the first box was a bit high, so last time you had to hop to reach it. This time, you tried the same thing, but jumped a lot higher than you expected, barely catching the edge with your foot and nearly falling back on the floor. Your arms windmilled to keep your balance and you took a second to realize what happened.

You looked at your feet.

You looked at the next box.

Then you looked up at the table edge. 

An idea occurred to you and you got ready for another jump, wondering if you’d be able to get close to the table at all. 

One, two, three!

Your spring catapulted you up to the edge of the desk from the box, just high enough for you to flail and your foot to make contact. A grin split your features in victory before you stepped forward, wanting to see what Shockwave was doing.

Now that you were there, you realized the scientist wasn’t working on anything.

He’d fallen asleep at his desk.

You smiled at the sight, thinking it was kind of cute. His helm was rested on top of his arms, optic off. You barely heard the electronic hum of idling systems coming from the scientist, hovering just above the silence of the room.

With a resigned nod to yourself, you turned and quietly paced toward the desk’s edge once again. Just before you were about to hop off, the sound of movement gave you pause.

You glanced back and saw that Shockwave had risen from his arms, optic focused on you in a sleepy-looking gaze. You turned fully to face the bot and waved, optics unknowingly lighting up since you were happy to see him.

“I didn’t want to wake you.” You stated, moving forward when Shockwave straightened up at his desk.

The scientist cocked his helm slightly, finials giving a quick twitch when he realized you looked different.

“A logical notion, though it was merely a light recharge.” He replied, shifting to rest his helm on his servo.

You offered another smile and got a little closer, looking up at him as you snickered, “I scared the scrap out of an Eradicon before I got here. I didn’t realize my eyes had changed, and all he saw was beady red optics in the dark.”

Shockwave responded with an amused huff before speculating, “The Eradicon likely assumed you were a scraplet that had somehow boarded the ship. An illogical assumption due to our altitude and their appearance in swarms.”

You cocked your head at the assumption, but hummed a moment later when you remembered that incident in the base with the metal-eating vermin. Yah, that made sense.

No wonder he was terrified.

You smiled with a shrug, and leaned a bit to glance at the new machine sitting in the lab.

“I take it you finished the project?” You asked, curious, but not pressuring Shockwave into an answer. The scientist nodded in response.

“That section has been completed, yes. There are a scant few pieces remaining to put together before I can test it.” No wonder he seemed tired. From what you could remember, he’d been working on the thing since before you even met him.

“I’m glad it’s so close to being done.” You chirped happily, offering another smile. Shockwave just hummed in agreement. 

“Indeed, it will be worth the effort if the test is successful.” He admitted, shifting to sit up. You watched Shockwave move to stand, reaching across the desk above you for a tool.

“Well, I guess I’ll get out your wires so you can get back to it.” You suggested, stretching a bit before just walking to the edge of the table.

Shockwave caught a glimpse of your movement before you stepped off, whipping around in an effort to stop you from falling. He missed.

For approximately five seconds, Shockwave was sure you were going to break your neck.

The look on your face shifted to curiosity as you simply landed with a small tap of your foot, taking a step or two afterward to prove you were fine.

Once he saw that you were perfectly intact on the ground, he chided, “That is an illogical method of transport. Do not do it again.”

You had the sense to look down in guilt and nodded.

“Right. No more dropping off tables.” You agreed, peeking at the stern look from the scientist.

He appeared satisfied with your answer and huffed, picking up another tool from the tabletop. You knew why he’d said that.

Shockwave worried about you.

You couldn’t help a small smile at the thought, looking up suddenly when the scientist spoke again, “There are still a few miniscule parts that need to be installed.”

Your expression brighted and you replied, “Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so there's something cute after the last chapter. Shockwave cares, he does, he was just a little mad that he missed.
> 
> Are you ever going to see what the machine is for? How is the next meeting with the Autobots going to go?
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> (also, updates might be a little slower for a few days, I ate something I shouldn't have and it makes it hard to think when I'm sick. Just a heads up.)


	34. Treason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets - Tribe Society

The second day came and the scanners of the Decepticon ship hadn’t registered anything amiss, nor did any spontaneous ground bridges appear aboard the Nemesis.

With the continuing assumption that the Autobots were either unable to find the ship, or hoping you were going to be released, you were directed to the hangar for deployment back to the town.

Soundwave had sent you a message indicating which ship to take. After finding the right one, you hit the control switch to open the cockpit and climbed inside.

Naturally, the ship was made for Cybertronians, but hopefully that didn’t mean you’d be flying around like a ping-pong ball during the landing.

Once the cabin closed, you saw the panel light up and begin the take-off sequence. Another message popped up in your HUD, ‘Ferret: landing coordinates will be randomized for optimal credibility. Prepare for launch.’

Wait, they weren’t just sending you to the Autobot base? Where the frag were you going?!

The launch countdown started from ten and began to decrease as you attempted to find something to buckle yourself down with.

The belts were far too large to give you any chance at safety, so that was out.

The countdown hit five.

You looked around the cabin frantically for anything that might work, but finally resigned to wedging yourself next to the arm partition just as the engines roared.

Here went nothing.

The shuttle rolled forward and quickly picked up speed before hurtling off though the hangar door.

 

If you had to be honest, the ride in the shuttle was a cruise compared to that flight with Starscream. At least, until the console beeped that you were almost at the destination and ‘emergency landing’ flashed on the screen.

You held on for dear life as the shuttle killed it’s engines and bounced off the ground a few times, rattling you around until it skidded to halt and crashed into a tree. With a groan of metal, the shuttle settled, smoke rising from the ruined machine as the cockpit popped open with a straining hiss.

It took a few seconds for you to right yourself and pop your head up, looking around at where the ‘randomized coordinates’ had sent you. 

Trees. Lots and lots of trees. You could only guess it was part of the forest around the southern area of the town, but Primus knows if you were even that close.

You sighed and moved to climb out of the ruined ship, tumbling off the edge before landing flat on your aft in the dirt. After getting up with a grunt, you pulled out your phone. The screen had cracked from the landing, but it hadn’t been in the best shape since your talons came in anyway.

Thinking for a moment, you send a group text, ‘Hey, I’m alive! I made it but I have no idea where I am.’

Now all you had to do was wait. You guessed that as soon as they saw the text, someone would worriedly message back and say they were coming to get you.

It took longer than you expected, but a an angry shout came from your phone. Wait, that was Ratchet. Ratchet never texted you.

You pulled the device up quickly and read the message.

‘Keep your phone on and don’t. Move.’

You blinked in surprise, but shrugged. Oh well, at least someone was on the way. 

Reaching into your bag, you pulled out a pair of oversized sunglasses with reflective lenses and flipped them open to put them on. It wasn’t a fool-proof disguise, but it would work for now.

 

It took about an hour of waiting around and kicking rocks before you heard a siren in the distance. A red and white Ambulance rolled up through the trees, sirens cutting off as Ratchet stopped before you.

“I made a mess.” You joked, offering a little smile. It seemed odd that Ratchet didn’t really respond at first, his passenger side door opening instead.

You started walking up before the medic finally said, “You can’t drive for slag.” You laughed a little and hopped into the passenger seat, the door closing afterward as Ratchet began to drive back toward the road.

“Hey, don’t blame me. It just took off and I was along for the ride.” The claim was accompanied by a shrug as you looked at the radio. A rough spot jostled you in the seat as Ratchet rolled over a rock.

“So how, exactly, how did you manage to steal a shuttle from the Decepticons?” He asked, sounding curious. Your ferret senses tingled, but decided to answer with the preconceived response, “I slipped through a vent when they weren’t looking and ended up in the hangar. I just kind of slapped a few buttons until the shuttle took off.”

Ratchet gave a contemplative hum, but otherwise didn’t reply. You tried not to look bothered with the silence that followed, getting a creeping feeling as the medic rolled up to the road and turned to follow it.

A few more minutes passed and he suddenly said, “Is there a reason you’re still wearing your sunglasses?” You blinked and looked at the radio.

Ratchet’s windows were tinted, and it wasn’t even bright because of all the shade from the trees.

Scrap.

You tried to play it cool and replied, “Nah, just didn’t feel like taking them off.” Without missing a beat, Ratchet accused, “Because your optics finally changed?”

Ok, that was unexpected.

“What are you talking about?” The tone was meant to be confused, but was laced with disbelief. This was bad. This was very bad.

Ratchet turned into a curve a little too quickly and replied, “Those nanites are working faster than Knockout expected, aren’t they?”

Oh. Slag.

“What do you-” Another sharp turn jerked you in the seat, making your head bump the glass of Ratchet’s door, knocking the glasses from your face.

You reached up in reaction, hand covering your eyes like the glasses had hurt your face. You reached down slowly to go for the glasses in the floorboard. When you leaned over, Ratchet pumped his breaks and you headbutted the dash, making you sit up with a shout and hold your head instead.

Forgetting yourself for a moment, you glowered with bright red and black optics at the radio and complained, “What the frag, man?!” The realization hit you a second later.

You were royally slagged. 

“Don’t lie to me. We already saw the data.” The words were cold, not like Ratchet’s usual ‘I don’t totally mean it’ grousing. You glanced aside, rubbing your head a bit before lowering your hands. The glovebox had a dent in it now.

“So why did you come pick me up?” You retorted, finally picking up your glasses to put them away.

“Because damned if I want to believe it wasn’t of your own doing. That’s why.” You saw Ratchet take another turn and realized where you were.

This wasn’t the way to the base.

A red message appeared on your HUD, ‘Tracking location. Ground bridge will be provided once extraction is plausible.”

You made a face, but tried to focus on the problem at hand. The next question was, how on Earth did the Autobots get a hold of your scan data?

Thoughts swirled in your head, wondering if it was something left over from your transfer from the console, or if it’d been slipped to them by some unknown source.

A few tense minutes passed in silence as Ratchet drove you to Primus knew where, eventually taking an off ramp that led to an abandoned air base. You remained silent, waiting until the medic opened his door for you to get out.

Ratchet transformed and crossed his arms, looking down at you with the most disapproving and disheartened look you’d ever seen on his faceplates.

You didn’t get to dwell on the shame, however, since the sound of familiar pedefalls approached from the old hangar. Looking over, you saw Optimus approaching with a blank, stoic expression.

Oh, blast you right now. Just end it.

You didn’t bother hiding your optics this time, watching as the Autobot leader stopped before you and Ratchet. He looked down at your form, a flutter of disappointment crossing his faceplates before he simply asked, “Why?”

You glanced aside, knowing that more lies wouldn’t help. The jig was up, and now you were standing between the two bots that had trusted you most.

With a heavy sigh, you tried to come up with something to say. Your HUD flashed with another message. ‘Ground bridge initiating.’

A smile crossed your lips before you looked back at the semi with a mixed expression of pity and apology. 

‘Bridge activated.’

A glowing green portal appeared on the ground behind you. Your head tilted downward and cast a shadow over your red optics as you replied, “I don’t think you’d understand. Sorry, Optimus.”

You took a step backwards into the portal, falling into the warp. The last glimpse you saw was of Ratchet and Optimus reaching out to catch you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh snap. The ferret's out of the bag, now. With the Autobots reeling from your reveal, what's going to happen now? Are the Decepticons going to keep you alive now that you can't be their informant? What's going on with that machine Shockwave has been building?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	35. Alternative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Too many questions, and too few answers.

The drop from the ground bridge had you falling through the tunnel rather quickly. As the other end approached, you noticed it was still vertical, the throne room coming into view.

 

Coming out of the bridge had dropped you right on top of the pedestal in the center of the throne room. Your legs absorbed the shock quite easily as you landed in a kneeling position, looking up afterward.

 

Megatron stood before you once again, an angry scowl painted across his sharp features.

 

He didn’t look happy to see you, this time.

 

“How did the Autobots get a hold of your scan, _ferret_?” He demanded, sounding like you were to blame for the leak.

 

You stood quickly and tried to explain, “My Lord, my best guess is, it was given to them. I can attest that I had no intention of telling them, myself.” The defense didn’t appear satisfactory as the overlord slammed his servo dangerously close to where you were standing.

 

“I don’t want _guesses_ , ferret. I want _answers_ . The Autobot medic mentioned the data projection for your reconstruction. _That_ was only housed in Knockout’s med bay database.” He snarled, leaving you to lean back slightly from how upfront the overlord had gotten.

 

You blinked in surprise, but regained your nerve and stepped forward to declare, “I’m fully aware Soundwave has been monitoring my tracker constantly, and if you look at the video feeds, I can _assure_ you, I didn’t out myself.” Your small optics flashed in a slight glare, meeting Megatron’s furious gaze with your own. “I know what my decision was, and I’ll be fragged if I went back on it. My Lord.”

 

The insistence finally seemed to reach the point at which Megatron begrudgingly agreed, though not verbally. He growled and finally relented the interrogation by standing to his full height, although still clearly pissed.

 

“Very well,” He ground out, regarding you for a moment before he continued, “Since your espionage has met an unforeseen end,” Megatron’s tone indicated that you may or may not still be useful. “We will have to continue with the alternative route for your uses.”

 

Wait, what did _that_ mean?

 

You were about to ask about the phrasing until the pedestal began to lower.

 

Megatron pinched the bridge of his helm in frustration and ordered, “Until your reconstruction is complete, report to Knockout each day for a maintenance scan. Soundwave will relay further orders. Dismissed.”

 

You gave a curious look up at the overlord, but offered a bow and left the room in a state of confusion.

 

What in the world was Megatron talking about? What was going to happen once your ‘reconstruction’ was finished?

 

Were you going to be used as some kind of sentient cleaning drone?

 

Or was Shockwave going to end up dissecting you, after all…?

 

The thought sent a shiver down your spine. After all that effort, would the Decepticons really just use you for an anatomy specimen?

 

You felt the anxiety creep up again on your journey to the medical bay, only able to speculate on why you were still alive.

 

* * *

  
The doors slid open before you trudged inside, a look of deep concentration on your face. Knockout spun around in his chair with a hum, raising a brow at your disposition.

 

“What’s the matter, pet? No more work for you to help Shockwave with?” He teased, but the words didn’t really get a reaction out of you besides glancing up.

 

“No. It’s worse than that.” You reply sulkily, walking over toward the table. Without even thinking, you hopped up a box and then to the table, just giving a sigh as Knockout nearly jumped out of his armor.

 

He was taken off guard at your super-human jumps, but quickly got over the surprise and asked, “Then what is it? Surely it’s nothing too bad.”

 

You glowered weakly at the medic and retorted, “The Autobots got a hold of your scan data and found out about the tracker.” Knockout’s optics widened, helm whipping down to look at you in shock.

 

“How in the pit are you still alive, then?!”

 

You just shrugged. Good question.

 

“Lord Megatron said something about getting scanned every day until the nanites were done with the conversion, and I’d hear something later. I’m surprised, too.” You admitted, watching the medic move to think very hard about why that was the case.

 

Knockout finally gave up with a sigh, “I guess we’ll just have to follow orders and hope for the best, pet. I honestly have no idea what that means.” He moved to get up and grab the scanner from his desk afterward, leaving you with the same questions as before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short in-between. I feel like I kinda copped out on this one, but eh. It also took me 35 chapters to figure out there was a horizontal line button. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> What did Megatron mean? How are you still alive? What in the world is going to happen next?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	36. Full Circle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything has fallen into place.

The third night after your treachery, you woke from a fitful sleep, bolting upright in the dark of your closet with a start. Your chest was pounding hard, but the beat felt more centered than where your heart was supposed to be.

You raised a hand up to feel the sensation, heat radiating from your chest with an unusually strong pulse. You checked your wrist.

Nothing.

No heartbeat.

In a panic, you looked down your shirt and saw a soft glow from the designs that had formed across your body, red like your optics and slowly fading back into the darkness. You rolled your eyes and flopped back on the berth, hand coming up to cover your face as you stared at the ceiling.

Knockout had warned you there was a possibility that the nanites wouldn’t be able to pull off creating a spark while keeping your heart beating until it was done.

Luck seemed to be on your side, yet again.

The shock of waking up had spun your new systems into a tizzy, even your HUD had activated and performed a preliminary scan of the room. You rolled your optics and sat up again with an exasperated sigh.

Guess as long as you were up, you’d see if anyone else was.

 

* * *

 

 

After throwing on your clothes, you perused around the quiet halls, your small footsteps barely making a sound. Your aimless wandering eventually brought you to the lab.

You paused, looking up at the large doors, and considered going inside. The screen on the keypad signaled it wasn’t locked, so maybe Shockwave was pulling another night shift for his machine. With a shrug to yourself, you decided to enter.

Glancing around, you noticed the purple bot off to the side, near the rear wall of Cybertronian-sized containers that had caught your eye on the first visit. Shockwave looked like he was examining a screen next to one of the tubes, which contained something...new.

You turned to walk over, unsurprised to see the scientist glance over at your approach.

“Started something new?” You asked before giving a yawn, hand coming up to cover your mouth.

Shockwave assessed the motion and seemed confused as to why you were there.

“It is an unusual hour for you to visit.” He stated simply, turning a bit to face you.

You just pointed to your chest and replied, “Spark finally kicked on. I couldn’t go back to sleep after I felt like I had a heart-attack.” The scientist’s optic flashed in surprise, finials standing up a bit at the information.

He turned back and scrolled through some data on the display quickly before he glanced up at the container.

“Then we shall move on to the test.” Shockwave declared, his gaze directing you to look up at the vessel as well.

Through the thick liquid, you could see the dark shape of a Cybertronian frame with sharp edged armor, blank faceplates, and black, lifeless optics. It was in that moment, that you finally put the pieces together.

 

You _were_ an experiment,  and the next stage was about to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The continuation of this series will be moved to a second part.
> 
> All I can say is; oh. snap.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this fic so far, and hopefully enjoying my story. I greatly appreciate all the kudos and comments I've gotten, and fully intend on giving you a true ending. No cliffhangers besides this one. Promise.
> 
> Thanks again, and I'll see you in the next part of the series!


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